
Book .f r 



Copyright]^". 



COFVRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



!-Ol.K. LORE 



■Ol>l'CTI< 



'Master Schulz was so terrified that 

he qU but dropped the spear, 

and a cold perspiration broke out 

over his whole body." 

— 77?^ Seve7i Swabians, p. 216 



THE HARVARD CLASSICS 

EDITED BY CHARLES W ELIOT LL D 

FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

^SOP GRIMM ANDERSEN 

WITH INTRODUCTIONS, NOTES 
AND ILLUSTRATIONS 




P F COLLIER & SON 
NEW YORK 



Copyright, 1909 
By p. F. Collier & Son 



c5r 



T|«5 



24eB72 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

The habit of telling stories is one of the most primitive char- 
acteristics of the human race. The most ancient civilisations, 
the most barbarous savages, of whom we have any knowledge 
have yielded to investigators clear traces of the possession of this 
practise. The specimens of their narrative that have been gath- 
ered from all the ends of the earth and from the remotest times 
of which we have written record show traces of purpose, now 
religious and didactic, now patriotic and political; but behind or 
beside the purpose one can discern the permanent human delight 
in the story for its own sake. 

The oldest of stories are the myths: not the elaborated and 
sophisticated tales that one finds in, say, Greek epic and drama, 
but the myth pure and simple. This is the answer of primitive 
science to the question of the barbaric child, the explanation of 
the thunder or the rain, of the origin of man or of fire, of disease 
or death. The form of such myths is accounted for by the belief 
known as "animism," which assumed personality in every object 
and phenomenon, and conceived no distinction in the kind of ex- 
istence of a man, a dog, a tree, or a stone. Such myths are still 
told among, e. g., the American Indians, and the assumption just 
mentioned accounts for such features as the transformation of 
the same being from a man into a log or a fish, or the marriage 
of a coyote and a woman. Derived from this state of belief and 
showing signs of their origin, are such animal stories as form the 
basis of the artistically worked-up tales of "Uncle Remus." 

Thus in primitive myth, the divinities of natural forces are not 
personifications, for there was no figure of speech involved; the 
storm, the ocean, and the plague were to the mythmakers actually 
persons. The symbolical element in literary myths is a later de- 
velopment, possible only as man gradually arrived at the realiza- 
tion of his separateness in kind from the non-human objects of 
his senses. With this realisation came the attempt to adapt the 
myths that had come down from more primitive times to his 
new way of thinking, and the long process of making the myths 
reasonable and credible set in. 

But while the higher myths were being thus transformed into 
the religions of the civilised man, the ways of thinking that had 

1 



2 INTRODUCTION 

produced them in their original form survived to some extent in 
stories of less dignity, which made no pretensions to he either 
science or religion hut which were told only because they enter- 
tained. Tales of this kind have come down from mouth to mouth 
in less sophisticated communities to our own day, and are now 
being killed out only by the printing-press and the diffusion of 
the art of reading. But happily many have been collected, and 
they are represented in the present volume by the "Mdrchen" or 
household tales preserved by Grimm. 

Far earlier written down, hut less primitive in kind, are the 
^sopic Fables. In these allegorical tales, the form of the old 
animistic story is used without any belief in the identity of the 
personalities of men and animals, but with a conscious double 
meaning and for the purpose of teaching a lesson. The fable is 
a product not of the folk but of the learned; and though at times 
it has been handed down by word of mouth, it is really a literary 
form. 

Still more recent, both in kind and in date, are the Wonder 
stories of modern manufacture represented here by the tales of 
Hans Christian Andersen. This nineteenth-century Dane had a 
marvelous knack of entertaining children by repeating old folk- 
tales of the type collected by Grimm; and his success in this led' 
him on to attempt inventing new ones. The new ones were suc- 
cessful, too; but though the incidents were often suggested by 
traditional stories, Hans Christian Andersen's finished products 
are to be regarded as a form of modern fiction worked out under 
the influence of more or less primitive folk-tales. 

^sop is little more than the shadow of a name. He was a slave 
from the island of Samos, who flourished, according to Herod- 
otus, about the middle of the sixth century before Christ; and 
his name is associated with the special use of the fable for po- 
litical purposes at a time when the reign of the tyrants in Greece 
made unveiled speech dangerous. About two hundred and fifty 
years after ^sop's time, Demetrius of Phaleron collected a large 
number of fables and called them by ^sop's name, and a version 
of these was turned into Latin verse by one Phcedrus in the time 
of Augustus. This Phcedrus is the main source of the modern 
"2Esop" but no one can point to any one fable existing to-day 
as certainly the invention of the Samian slave. 



INTRODUCTION 3 

In India as well as in Greece the fable was common from very 
early times; and near the beginning of our era a Buddhist collec- 
tion that had come west by Alexandria was combined with that 
of Demetrius, and later turned into Greek verse by Valerius 
Babrius. A Greek prose version of Babrius was accepted for 
centuries as the original AIsop. The habit of summing up the 
lesson of the fable in a "moral" at the end seems to have come in 
with the Oriental contribution. 

The history of collections of fables in Europe from Phc^drus 
and Babrius down is one of incredible complexity, on many of the 
details of which scholars are yet far from agreement. Additions 
to the common stock have come in from a vast variety of sources; 
the stories have been retold scores of times, so that there is noth- 
ing approaching an authentic text; yet the name of ^sop has 
clung till it has become merely a convenient name for this par- 
ticular type of allegorical beast-tale. 

In the present collection, the fables have been retold in simple 
language by Mr. Joseph Jacobs. He has chosen those examples 
that have become most universally popular, and at the same time 
has given representatives from all the main sources. A glance 
at the titles will be sufficient to show to what an extraordinary 
extent these simple stories have become the common property of 
all peoples. 



CONTENTS 

-<ESOFS FABLES- 
PAGE 

The Cock and the Pearl 9 

The Wolf and the Lamb 9 

The Dog and the Shadow 10 

The Lion's Share 10 

The Wolf and the Crane 11 

The Man and the Serpent 11 

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse 12 

The Fox and the Crow 12 

The Sick Lion 13 

The Ass and the Lapdog 13 

The Lion and the Mouse 14 

The Swallow and the Other Birds 14 

The Frogs Desiring a King 15 

The Mountains in Labour 16 

The Hares and the Frogs 16 

The Wolf and the Kid 16 

The Woodman and the Serpent 17 

The Bald Man and the Fly 17 

The Fox and the Stork 17 

The Fox and the Mask 18 

The Jay and the Peacock 18 

The Frog and the Ox 19 

Androcles 19 

The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts 20 

The Hart and the Hunter 20 

The Serpent and the File 21 

The Man and the Wood 21 

The Dog and the Wolf 21 

The Belly and the Members 22 

The Hart and the Ox-Stall 22. 

The Fox and the Grapes ^^z 

The Horse, Hunter, and Stag ^z 

5 

HC XVII— A 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Peacock and Juno 24 

The Fox and the Lion 24 

The Lion and the Statue 24 

The Ant and the Grasshopper 25 

The Tree and the Reed 25 

The Fox and the Cat 26 

The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing 26 

The Dog in the Manger 27 

The Man and the Wooden God 27 

The Fisher 27 

The Shepherd's Boy 28 

The Young Thief and His Mother 28 

The Man and His Two Wives 29 

The Nurse and the Wolf 29 

The Tortoise and the Birds 30 

The Two Crabs 30 

The Ass in the Lion's Skin 30 

The Two Fellows and the Bear 31 

The Two Pots 31 

The Four Oxen and the Lion z^ 

The Fisher and the Little Fish 32 

Avaricious and Envious z^ 

The Crow and the Pitcher 33 

The Man and the Satyr ZZ 

The Goose With the Golden Eggs 34 

The Labourer and the Nightingale 34 

The Fox, the Cock, and the Dog 35 

The Wind and the Sun 35 

Hercules and the Waggoner 36 

The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey 36 

The Miser Z7 

The Fox and the MosqUitoes Z7 

The Fox Without a Tail 38 

The One- Eyed Doe 38 

Belling the Cat 39 

The Hare and the Tortoise 39 

The Old Man and Death 40 

The Hare With Many Friends 40 

The Lion in Love • 41 

The Bundle of Sticks 41 



CONTENTS 7 

PAGE 

The Lion, the Fox, and the Beasts 42 

The Ass's Brains 42 

The Eagle and the Arrow 43 

The Milkmaid and Her Pail 43 

The Cat-Maiden 44 

The Horse and the Ass 44 

The Trumpeter Taken Prisoner 44 

The Buffoon and the Countryman 45 

The Old Woman and the Wine Jar 46 

The Fox and the Goat 46 



FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 
iESOFS FABLES 

THE COCK AND THE PEARL 

ACOCK was once strutting up and down the farmyard 
among the hens when suddenly he espied some- 
thing shining amid the straw. " Ho ! ho ! " quoth 
he, "that's for me," and soon rooted it out from beneath 
the straw. What did it turn out to be but a Pearl that 
by some chance had been lost in the yard? "You may be 
a treasure," quoth Master Cock, "to men that prize you, 
but for me I would rather have a single barley-corn than 
a peck of pearls." 

"precious things are for those that can 
prize them." 

THE WOLF AND THE LAMB 

Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on 
a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a 
Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. " There's 
my supper," thought he, " if only I can find some excuse 
to seize it." Then he called out to the Lamb, " How dare 
you muddle the water from which I am drinking ? " 

" Nay, master, nay," said Lambikin ; " if the water be 
muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs 
down from you to me." 

" Well, then," said the Wolf, " why did you call me bad 
names this time last year ? " 

" That cannot be," said the Lamb ; " I am only six months 
old." 

"I don't care," snarled the Wolf; "if it was not you 

9 



10 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

it was your father ; " and with that he rushed upon the 
poor little Lamb and — 

WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA — 

ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out — 
"any excuse will serve a tyrant." 

THE DOG AND THE SHADOW 

It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and 
was carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. Now 
on his way home he had to cross a plank lying across a 
running brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw 
his own shadow reflected in the water beneath. Thinking 
it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made 
up his mind to have that also. So he made a snap at the 
shadow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the piece 
of meat fell out, dropped into the water and was never 
seen more. 

" beware lest you lose the substance by grasping 
at the shadow.'' 

THE LION'S SHARE 

The Lion went once a-hunting along with the Fox, the 
Jackal, and the Wolf. They hunted and they hunted till 
at last they surprised a Stag, and soon took its life. Then 
came the question how the spoil should be divided. " Quar- 
ter me this Stag," roared the Lion; so the other animals 
skinned it and cut it into four parts. Then the Lion took 
his stand in front of the carcass and pronounced judgment: 
*' The first quarter is for me in my capacity as King of 
Beasts; the second is mine as arbiter; another share comes 
to me for my part in the chase; and as for the fourth 
quarter, well, as for that, I should like to see which of 
you will dare to lay a paw upon it." 

" Humph," grumbled the Fox as he walked away with 
his tail between his legs; but he spoke in a low growl — 

"you may share the labours of the great, but you 

WILL NOT share THE SPOIL." 



iESOP'S FABLES 11 

THE WOLF AND THE CRANE 

A WOLF had been gorging on an animal he had killed, 
when suddenly a small bone in the meat stuck in his throat 
and he could not swallow it. He soon felt terrible pain in 
his throat, and ran up and down groaning and groaning and 
seeking for something to relieve the pain. He tried to 
induce every one he met to remove the bone. " I would 
give anything," said he, "if you would take it out." At 
last the Crane agreed to try, and told the Wolf to lie on 
his side and open his j^ws as wide as he could. Then the 
Crane put its long neck down the Wolf's throat, and with 
its beak loosened the bone, till at last it got it out. 

" Will you kindly give me the reward you promised ? " 
said the Crane. 

The Wolf grinned and showed his teeth and said : " Be 
content. You have put your head inside a Wolf's mouth 
and taken it out again in safety; that ought to be reward 
enough for you." 

** GRATITUDE AND GREED GO NOT TOGETHER." 



THE MAN AND THE SERPENT 

A countryman's son by accident trod upon a Serpent's 
tail, which turned and bit him so that he died. The father 
in a rage got his axe, and pursuing the Serpent, cut off part 
of its tail. So the Serpent in revenge began stinging 
several of the Farmer's cattle and caused him severe loss. 
Well, the Farmer thought it best to make it up with the 
Serpent, and brought food and honey to the mouth of its 
laif , and said to it : " Let's forget and forgive ; perhaps you 
were right to punish my son, and take vengeance on my 
cattle, but surely I was right in trying to revenge him; 
now that we are both satisfied why should not we be friends 
again ? " 

" No, no," said the Serpent ; " take away your gifts ; 
you can never forget the death of your son, nor I the loss 
of my tail." 

"injuries may be FORGIVEN, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN." 



12 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE 

Now you must know that a Town Mouse once upon a 
time went on a visit to his cousin in the country. He 
was rough and ready, this cousin, but he loved his town 
friend and made him heartily welcome. Beans and bacon, 
cheese and bread, were all he had to offer, but he offered 
them freely. The Town Mouse rather turned up his long 
nose at this country fare, and said: "I cannot understand, 
Cousin, how you can put up with such poor food as this, 
but of course you cannot expect anything better in the 
country ; come you with me and I will show you how to live. 
When you have been in town a week you will wonder how 
you could ever have stood a country life." No sooner said 
than done: the two mice set off for the town and arrived 
at the Town Mouse's residence late at night. " You will 
want some refreshment after our long journey," said the 
polite Town Mouse, and took his friend into the grand 
dining-room. There they found the remains of a fine feast, 
and soon the two mice were eating up jellies and cakes 
and all that was nice. Suddenly they heard growling and 
barking. " What is that ?" said the Country Mouse. " It 
is only the dogs of the house," answered the other. " Only ! " 
said the Country Mouse. " I do not like that music at 
my dinner." Just at that moment the door flew open, in 
came two huge mastiffs, and the two mice had to scamper 
down and run off. " Good-bye, Cousin," said the Country 
Mouse. " What ! going so soon ? " said the other. " Yes," 
he replied; 

" BETTER BEANS AND BACON IN PEACE THAN CAKES 
AND ALE IN FEAR.'" 

THE FOX AND THE CROW 

A FOX once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese 
in its beak and settle on a branch of a tree. "That's for 
me, as I am a Fox," said Master Reynard, and he walked up 
to the foot of the tree. " Good-day, Mistress Crow," he 
cried. " How well you are looking to-day : how glossy your 



^SOP'S FABLES 13 

feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice 
must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; 
let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you 
as the Queen of Birds." The Crow lifted up her head and 
began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her 
mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be 
snapped up by Master Fox. " That will do," said he. 
" That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I 
will give you a piece of advice for the future — 

" DO NOT TRUST FLATTERERS." 



THE SICK LION 

A Lion had come to the end of his days and lay sick 
unto death at the mouth of his cave, gasping for breath. 
The animals, his subjects, came round him and drew nearer 
as he grew more and more helpless. When they saw him 
on the point of death they thought to themselves : " Now is 
the time to pay off old grudges." So the Boar came up and 
drove at him with his tusks; then a Bull gored him with 
his horns ; still the Lion lay helpless before them : so the Ass, 
feeling quite safe from danger, came up, and turning his 
tail to the Lion kicked up his heels into his face. " This 
is a double death," growled the Lion. 

" ONLY COWARDS INSULT DYING MAJESTY." 



THE ASS AND THE LAPDOG 

A Farmer one day came to the stables to see to his beasts 
of burden: among them was his favourite Ass, that was al- 
ways well fed and often carried his master. With the 
Farmer came his Lapdog, who danced about and licked his 
hand and frisked about as happy as could be. The Farmer 
felt in his pocket, gave the Lapdog some dainty food, and 
sat down while he gave his orders to his servants The 
Lapdog jumped into his master's lap, and lay there blinking 
while the Farmer stroked his ears. The Ass, seeing this, 



14 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

broke loose from his halter and commenced prancing about 
in imitation of the Lapdog. The Farmer could not hold his 
sides with laughter, so the Ass went up to him, and putting 
his feet upon the Farmer^s shoulder attempted to climb 
into his lap. The Farmer's servants rushed up with sticks 
and pitchforks and soon taught the Ass that 

" CLUMSY JESTING IS NO JOKE." 



THE LION AND THE MOUSE 

Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began run- 
ning up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, 
who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big 
jaws to swallow him. " Pardon, O King," cried the little 
Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who 
knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of 
these days ? " The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the 
Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw 
and let him go. Some time after the Lion was caught in 
a trap, and the hunters, who desired to carry him alive 
to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search 
of a waggon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse 
happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which 
the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed away the 
ropes that bound the King of Beasts. " Was I not right ? " 
said the little Mouse. 

" LITTLE FRIENDS MAY PROVE GREAT FRIENDS." 



THE SWALLOW AND THE OTHER BIRDS 

It happened that a Countryman was sowing some hemp 
seeds in a field where a Swallow and some other birds were 
hopping about picking up their food. " Beware of that 
man," quoth the Swallow. "Why, what is he doing?" said 
the others. " That is hemp seed he is sowing ; be careful 
to pick up every one of the seeds, or else you will repent 
it." The birds paid no heed to the Swallow's words, and 



vESOP'S FABLES IS 

by and by the hemp grew up and was made into cord, 
and of the cords nets were made, and many a bird that had 
despised the Swallow's advice was caught in nets made out 
of that very hemp. "What did I tell you?" said the 
Swallow. 

"destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow 
up to your ruin." 



THE FROGS DESIRING A KING 

The Frogs were living as happy as could be in a marshy 
swamp that just suited them; they went splashing about 
caring for nobody and nobody troubling with them. But 
some of them thought that this was not right, that they 
should have a king and a proper constitution, so they deter- 
mined to send up a petition to Jove to give them what they 
wanted. " Mighty Jove," they cried, " send unto us a king 
that will rule over us and keep us in order." Jove laughed 
at their croaking, and threw down into the swamp a huge 
Log, which came down — kerplash — into the swamp. The 
Frogs were frightened out of their lives by the commotion 
made in their midst, and all rushed to the bank to look at 
the horrible monster; but after a time, seeing that it did 
not move, one or two of the boldest of them ventured out 
towards the Log, and even dared to touch it; still it did 
not move. Then the greatest hero of the Frogs jumped 
upon the Log and commenced dancing up and down upon 
it, thereupon all the Frogs came and did the same; and for 
some time the Frogs went about their business every day 
without taking the slightest notice of their new King Log 
lying in their midst. But this did not suit them, so they 
sent another petition to Jove, and said to him, " We want 
a real king; one that will really rule over us," Now this 
made Jove angry, so he sent among them a big Stork that 
soon set to work gobbling them all up. Then the Frogs 
repented when too late. 

" better no rule than cruel rule." 



16 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 



THE MOUNTAINS IN LABOUR 

One day the Countrymen noticed that the Mountains 
were in labour; smoke came out of their summits, the earth 
was quaking at their feet, trees were crashing, and huge 
rocks were tumbling. They felt sure that something hor- 
rible was going to happen. They all gathered together 
in one place to see what terrible thing this would be. They 
waited and they waited, but nothing came. At last there 
was a still more violent earthquake, and a huge gap ap- 
peared in the side of the Mountains. They all fell down 
upon their knees and waited. At last, and at last, a teeny, 
tiny mouse poked its little head and bristles out of the gap 
and came running down towards them, and ever after they 
used to say : 

"much outcry, little outcome." 



THE HARES AND THE FROGS 

The Hares were so persecuted by the other beasts, they 
did not know where to go. As soon as they saw a single 
animal approach them, off they used to run. One day they 
saw a troop of wild Horses stampeding about, and in quite 
a panic all the Hares scuttled off to a lake hard by, deter- 
mined to drown themselves rather than live in such a con- 
tinual state of fear. But just as they got near the bank of 
the lake, a troop of Frogs, frightened in their turn by the 
approach of the Hares, scuttled off, and jumped into the 
water. "Truly," said one of the Hares, "things are not 
so bad as they seem : 

" THERE IS ALWAYS SOME ONE WORSE 



THE WOLF AND THE KID 

A Kid was perched up on the top of a house, and looking 
down saw a Wolf passing under him. Immediately he be- 



^SOP'S FABLES 17 

gan to revile and attack his enemy. " Murderer and thief," 
he cried, " what do you here near honest folks' houses ? 
How dare you make an appearance where your vile deeds 
are known ? " 

" Curse away, my young friend," said the Wolf. 

"it is easy to be brave at a safe distance." 



THE WOODMAN AND THE SERPENT 

One wintry day a Woodman was tramping home from 
his work when he saw something black lying on the snow. 
When he came closer, he saw it was a Serpent to all ap- 
pearance dead. But he took it up and put it in his bosom 
to warm while he hurried home. As soon as he got indoors 
he put the Serpent down on the hearth before the fire. The 
children watched it and saw it slowly come to life again. 
Then one of them stooped down to stroke it, but the Serpent 
raised its head and put out its fangs and was about to sting 
the child to death. So the Woodman seized his axe, and 
with one stroke cut the Serpent in two. "Ah," said he, 

" NO GRATITUDE FROM THE WICKED." 



THE BALD MAN AND THE FLY 

There was once a Bald Man who sat down after work 
on a hot summer's day. A Fly came up and kept buzzing 
about his bald pate, and stinging him from time to time. 
The Man aimed a blow at his little enemy, but — whack — 
his palm came on his head instead; again the Fly tormented 
him, but this time the Man was wiser and said: 

"you WILL ONLY INJURE YOURSELF IF YOU TAKE 
NOTICE OF DESPICABLE ENEMIES." 



THE FOX AND THE STORK 

At one time the Fox and the Stork were on visiting terms 
and seemed very good friends. So the Fox invited the Stork 



18 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

to dinner, and for a joke put nothing before her but some 
soup in a very shallow dish. This the Fox could easily lap 
up, but the Stork could only wet the end of her long bill 
in it, and left the meal as hungry as when she began. " I am 
sorry," said the Fox, " the soup is not to your liking/* 

" Pray do not apologise," said the Stork. " I hopp you 
will return this visit, and come and dine with me soon." So 
a day was appointed when the Fox should visit the Stork; 
but when they were seated at table all that was for their 
dinner Was contained in a very long-necke(i jar with a 
narrow mouth, in which the Fox could not insert his snout, 
so all he could manage to do was to lick the outside of the jar. 

" I will not apologise for the dinner," said the Stork : 



THE FOX AND THE MASK 

A Fox had by some means got into the store-room of a 
theatre. Suddenly he observed a face glaring down on 
him, and began to be very frightened; but looking more 
closely he found it was only a Mask such as actors use to 
put over their face. " Ah," said the Fox, " you look very 
fine; it is a pity you have not got any brains." 



THE JAY AND THE PEACOCK 

A Jay venturing into a yard where Peacocks used to walk, 
found there a number of feathers which had fallen from 
the Peacocks when they were moulting. He tied them all 
to his tail and strutted down towards the Peacocks. When 
he came near them they soon discovered the cheat, and 
striding up to him pecked at him and plucked away his bor- 
rowed plumes. So the Jay could do no better than go back 
to the other Jays, who had watched his behaviour from a 
distance; but they were equally annoyed with him, and 
told him 

" IT IS NOT ONLY FINE FEATHERS THAT MAKE FINE BIRDS." 



iESOP'S FABLES 19 



THE FROG AND THE OX 

" Oh Father," said a little Frog to the big one sitting by 
the side of a pool, " I have seen such a terrible monster ! 
It was as big as a mountain, with horns on its head, and a 
long tail, and it had hoofs divided in two." 

" Tush, child, tush," said the old Frog, " that was only- 
Farmer White's Ox. It isn't so big either; he may be a 
little bit taller than I, but I could easily make myself quite 
as broad; just you see." So he blew himself out, and blew 
himself out, and blew himself out. " Was he as big as that? " 
asked he. 

" Oh, much bigger than that," said the young Frog. 

Again the old one blew himself out, and asked the young 
one if the Ox was as big as that. 

" Bigger, father, bigger," was the reply. 

So the Frog took a deep breath, and blew and blew and 
blew, and swelled and swelled and swelled. And then he 
said : " I'm sure the Ox is not as big as — " But at this 
moment he burst. 



ANDROCLES 

A SLAVE named Androcles once escaped from his master 
and fled to the forest. As he was wandering about there he 
came upon a Lion lying down and moaning and groaning. 
At first he turned to flee, but finding that the Lion did not 
pursue him, he turned back and went up to him. As he 
came near, the Lion put out his paw. Which was all swollen 
and bleeding, and Androcles found that a huge thorn had 
got into it, and was causing all the pain. He pulled out 
the thorn and bound up the paw of the Lion, who was soon 
able to rise and lick the hand of Androcles like a dog. Then 
the Lion took Androcles to his cave, and every day used to 
bring him meat from which to live. But shortly afterwards 
both Androcles and the Lion were captured, and the slave 
was sentenced to be thrown to the Lion, after the latter had 



20 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

been kept without food for several days. The Emperor 
and all his Court came to see the spectacle, and Androcles 
was led out into the middle of the arena. Soon the Lion 
was let loose from his den, and rushed bounding and roaring 
towards his victim. But as soon as he came near to An- 
drocles he recognised his friend, and fawned upon him, and 
licked his hands like a friendly dog. The Emperor, sur- 
prised at this, summoned Androcles to him, who told him 
the whole story. Whereupon the slave was pardoned and 
freed, and the Lion let loose to his native forest 

" GRATITUDE IS THE SIGN OF NOBLE SOULS." 



THE BAT, THE BIRDS, AND THE BEASTS 

A GREAT conflict was about to come off between the Birds 
and the Beasts. When the two armies were collected to- 
gether the Bat hesitated which to join. The Birds that 
passed his perch said : " Come with us " ; but he said : " I 
am a Beast." Later on, some Beasts who were passing un- 
derneath him looked up and said : " Come with us " ; but he 
said : " I am a Bird." Luckily at the last moment peace was 
made, and no battle took place, so the Bat came to the 
Birds and wished to join in the rejoicings, but they all 
turned against him and he had to fly away. He then went 
to the Beasts, but soon had to beat a retreat, or else they 
would have torn him to pieces. "Ah, said the Bat, " I see 
now 



THE HART AND THE HUNTER 

The Hart was once drinking from a pool and admiring 
the noble figure he made there. "Ah," said he, " where can 
you see such noble horns as these, with such antlers ! I \vish 
I had legs more worthy to bear such a noble crown; it is a 
pity they are so slim and slight." At that moment a Hunter 
approached and sent an arrow whistling after him. Away 
bounded the Hart, and soon, by the aid of his nimble legs, 



^SOP'S FABLES 21 

was nearly out of sight of the Hunter; but not noticing 
where he was going, he passed under some trees with 
branches growing low down in which his antlers were 
caught, so that the Hunter had time to come up. "Alas! 
alas!" cried the Hart: 

" WE OFTEN DESPISE WHAT IS MOST USEFUL TO US." 



THE SERPENT AND THE FILE 

A Serpent in the course of its wanderings came into 
an armourer's shop. As he glided over the floor he felt his 
skin pricked by a file lying there. In a rage he turned round 
upon it and tried to dart his fangs into it; but he could 
do no harm to heavy iron and had soon to give over his 
wrath. 

"it is USELESS ATTACKING THE INSENSIBLE." 



THE MAN AND THE WOOD 

A Man came into a Wood one day with an axe in his 
hand, and begged all the Trees to give him a small branch 
which he wanted for a particular purpose. The Trees were 
good-natured and gave him one of their branches. What 
did the Man do but fix it into the axe head, and soon set 
to work cutting down tree after tree. Then the Trees saw 
how foolish they had been in giving their enemy the means 
of destroying themselves. 



THE DOG AND THE WOLF 

A GAUNT Wolf was almost dead with hunger when he 
happened to meet a House-dog who was passing by. " Ah, 
Cousin," said the Dog, " I knew how it would be ; your ir- 
regular life will soon be the ruin of you. Why do you 
not work steadily as I do, and get your food regularly 
given to you?" 

HO XVII— B 



22 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

"I would have no objection," said the Wolf, "if I could 
only get a place." 

" I will easily arrange that for you," said the Dog ; 
" come with me to my master and you shall share my work." 

So the Wolf and the Dog went towards the town together. 
On the way there the Wolf noticed that the hair on a certain 
part of the Dog's neck was very much worn away, so he 
asked him how that had come about. 

" Oh, it is nothing," said the Dog. " That is only the 
place where the collar is put on at night to keep me chained 
up; it chafes a bit, but one soon gets used to it." 

" Is that all ? " said the Wolf. " Then good-bye to you, 
Master Dog." 

" BETTER STARVE FREE THAN BE A FAT SLAVE." 



THE BELLY AND THE MEMBERS 

One fine day it occurred to the Members of the Body 
that they were doing all the work and the Belly was having 
all the food. So they held a meeting, and after a long 
discussion, decided to strike work till the Belly consented 
to take its proper share of the work. So for a day jor 
two, the Hands refused to take the food, the Mouth refused 
to receive it, and the Teeth had no work to do. But after 
a day or two the Members began to find that they themselves 
were not in a very active condition: the Hands could hardly 
move, and the Mouth was all parched and dry, while the 
Legs were unable to support the rest. So thus they found 
that even the Belly in its dull quiet way was doing neces- 
sary work for the Body, and that all must work together 
or the Body will go to pieces. 



THE HART IN THE OX-STALL 

A Hart hotly pursued by the hounds fled for refuge into 
an ox-stall, and buried itself in a truss of hay, leaving noth- 
ing to be seen but the tips of his horns. Soon after the 
Hunters came up and asked if any one had seen the Hart. 



iESOP'S FABLES 23 

The stable boys, who had been resting after their dinner, 
looked round, but could see nothing, and the Hunters went 
away. Shortly afterwards the master came in, and look- 
ing round, saw that something unusual had taken place. 
He pointed to the truss of hay and said : " What are those 
two curious things sticking out of the hay?" And when the 
stable boys came to look they discovered the Hart, and 
soon made an end of him. He thus learnt that 

" NOTHING ESCAPES THE MASTER's EYE."" 



THE FOX AND THE GRAPES 

One hot summer's day a Fox was strolling through an 
orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on 
a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. "Just 
the thing to quench my thirst," quoth he. Drawing back 
a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed 
the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, 
he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and 
again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had 
to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, 
saying: I am sure they are sour." 



THE HORSE, HUNTER, AND STAG 

A Quarrel had arisen between the Horse and the Stag, 
so the Horse came to a Hunter to ask his help to take 
revenge on the Stag. The Hunter agreed, but said: "If you 
desire to conquer the Stag, you must permit me to place 
this piece of iron between your jaws, so that I may guide 
you with these reins, and allow this saddle to be placed upon 
your back so that I may keep steady upon you as we follow 
after the enemy." The Horse agreed to the conditions, 
and the Hunter soon saddled and bridled him. Then with 
the aid of the Hunter the Horse soon overcame the Stag, 
and said to the Hunter : " Now, get off, and remove those 
things from my mouth and back." 



24 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

"Not so fast, friend," said the Hunter. "I have now 
got you under bit and spur, and prefer to keep you as you 
are at present." 

"if you allow men to use you for your own purposes, 
they will use you for theirs." 



THE PEACOCK AND JUNO 

A Peacock once placed a petition before Juno desiring to 
have the voice of a nightingale in addition to his other at- 
tractions; but Juno refused his request. When he persisted, 
and pointed out that he was her favourite bird, she said: 

"be content WITH YOUR LOT/ ONE CANNOT BE 
FIRST IN EVERYTHING."' 



THE FOX AND THE LION 

When first the Fox §aw the Lion he was terribly fright- 
ened, and ran away and hid himself in the wood. Next time 
however he came near the King of Beasts he stopped at 
a safe distance and watched him pass by. The third time 
they came near one another the Fox went straight up to the 
Lion and passed the time of day with him, asking him how 
his family were, and when he should have the pleasure of 
seeing him again; then turning his tail, he parted from 
the Lion without much ceremony. 

"familiarity breeds contempt." 



THE LION AND THE STATUE 

A Man and a Lion were discussing the relative strength 
of men and lions in general. The Man contended that he 
and his fellows were stronger than lions by reason of their 
greater intelligence. " Come now with me," he cried, " and 
I will soon prove that I am right." So he took him into 



JESOP'S FABLES 25 

the public gardens and showed him a statue of Hercules 
overcoming the Lion and tearing his mouth in two. 

" That is all very well," said the Lion, " but proves noth- 
ing, for it was a man who made the statue." 

"we can easily represent things as we 
wish them to be." 



THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER 

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping 
about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An 
Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn 
he was taking to the nest. 

" Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, 
" instead of toiling and moiling in that way ? " 

"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the 
Ant, " and recommend you to do the same." 

" Why bother about winter ? " said the Grasshopper ; " we 
have got plenty, of food at present." But the Ant went 
on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came 
the Grasshopper had no food, and found itself dying of 
hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn 
and grain from the stores they had collected in the sum- 
mer. Then the Grasshopper knew 



THE TREE AND THE REED 

" Well, little one," said a Tree to a Reed that was growing 
at its foot, " why do you not plant your feet deeply in the 
ground, and raise your head boldly in the air as I do? " 

" I am contented with my lot," said the Reed. " I may 
not be so grand, but I think I am safer." 

" Safe ! " sneered the Tree. " Who shall pluck me up 
by the roots or bow my head to the ground ? " But it 
soon had to repent of its boasting, for a hurricane arose 
which tore it up from its roots, and cast it a useless log on 



26 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

the ground, while the little Reed, bending to the force of 
the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had 
passed over. 

" OBSCURITY OFTEN BRINGS SAFETY." 



THE FOX AND THE CAT 

A Fox was boasting to a Cat of its clever devices for 
escaping its enemies. " I have a whole bag of tricks," he 
said, " which contains a hundred ways of escaping my 
enemies." 

" I have only one," said the Cat ; " but I can generally 
manage with that." Just at that moment they heard the 
cry of a pack of hounds coming towards them, and the Cat 
immediately scampered up a tree and hid herself in the 
boughs. " This is my plan," said the Cat. " What are you 
going to do?" The Fox thought first of one way, then of 
another, and while he was debating the hounds came nearer 
and nearer, and at last the Fox in his confusion was caught 
up by the hounds and soon killed by the huntsmen. Miss 
Puss, who had been looking on, said : 

"better one SAFE WAY THAN A HUNDRED ON WHICH 
YOU CANNOT RECKON." 



THE WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING 

A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing 
to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day 
it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown 
aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down 
among the sheep. The Lamb that belonged to the sheep, 
whose skin the Wolf was wearing, began to follow the 
Wolf in the Sheep's clothing; so, leading the Lamb a little 
apart, he soon made a meal off her, and for some time he 
succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals. 

"appearances are DECEPTIVE." 



^SOP'S FABLES 27 



THE DOG IN THE MANGER 

A Dog looking out for its afternoon nap jumped into the 
Manger of an Ox and lay there cosily upon the straw. But 
soon the Ox, returning from its afternoon work, came up 
to the Manger and wanted to eat some of the straw. The 
Dog in a rage, being awakened from its slumber, stood up 
and barked at the Ox, and whenever it came near attempted 
to bite it. At last the Ox had to give up the hope of getting 
at the straw, and went away muttering: 

" AH, PEOPLE OFTEN GRUDGE OTHERS WHAT THEY 
CANNOT ENJOY THEMSELVES." 



THE MAN AND THE WOODEN GOD 

In the old days men used to worship stocks and stones and 
idols, and prayed to them to give them luck. It happened 
that a Man had often prayed to a wooden idol he had received 
from his father, but his luck never seemed to change. He 
prayed and he prayed, but still he remained as unlucky as 
ever. One day in the greatest rage he went to the Wooden 
God, and with one blow swept it down from its pedestal. 
The idol broke in two, and what did he see? An immense 
number of coins flying all over the place. 



THE FISHER 

A Fisher once took his bagpipes to the bank of a river, 
and played upon them with the hope of making the fish rise ; 
but never a one put his nose out of the water. So he cast 
his net into the river and soon drew it forth filled with fish. 
Then he took his bagpipes again, and, as he played, the fish 
leapt up in the net. "Ah, you dance now when I play," 
said he. 

"Yes," said an old Fish: 

" when you are in a man's power you MUST 
DO AS HE BIDS YOU."" 



28 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 



THE SHEPHERD'S BOY 

There was once a young Shepherd Boy who tended his 
sheep at the foot of a mountain near a dark forest. It was 
rather lonely for him all day, so he thought upon a plan by 
which he could get a little company and some excitement. 
He rushed down towards the village calling out " Wolf, 
Wolf," and the villagers came out to meet him, and some 
of them stopped with him for a considerable time. This 
pleased the boy so much that a few days afterwards he 
tried the same trick, and again the villagers came to his 
help. But shortly after this a Wolf actually did come out 
from the forest, and began to worry the sheep, and the 
boy of course cried out " Wolf, Wolf," still louder than be- 
fore. But this time the villagers, who had been fooled twice 
before, thought the boy was again deceiving them, and no- 
body stirred to come to his help. So the Wolf made a good 
meal off the boy's flock, and when the boy complained, the 
wise man of the village said : 

" A LIAR WILL NOT BE BELIEVED, EVEN WHEN HE 
SPEAKS THE TRUTH." • 



THE YOUNG THIEF AND HIS MOTHER 

A YOUNG Man had been caught in a daring act of theft 
and had been condemned to be executed for it. He expressed 
his desire to see his Mother, and to speak with her before 
he was led to execution, and of course this was granted. 
When his Mother came to him he said : " I want to whisper 
to you," and when she brought her ear near him, he nearly 
bit it off. All the bystanders were horrified, and asked him 
what he could mean by such brutal and inhuman conduct. " It 
is to punish her," he said. "When I was young I began 
with stealing little things, and brought them home to Mother. 
Instead of rebuking and punishing me, she laughed and said : 
* It will not be noticed.' It is because of her that I am 
here to-day." 



.ESOP'S FABLES 29 

"He is right, woman," said the Priest; "the Lord hath 
said : 

"train up a child in the way he should go; and 
when he is old he will not depart therefrom." 



THE MAN AND HIS TWO WIVES 

In the old days, when men were allowed to have many- 
wives, a middle-aged Man had one wife that was old and one 
that was young ; each loved him very much, and desired to see 
him like herself. Now the Man's hair was turning grey, 
which the young Wife did not like, as it made him look too 
old for her husband. So every night she used to comb his 
hair and pick out the white ones. But the elder Wife saw 
her husband growing grey with great pleasure, for she did 
not like to be mistaken for his mother. So every morning 
she used to arrange his hair and pick out as many of the 
black ones as she could. The consequence was the Man 
soon found himself entirely bald. 

" YIELD TO ALL AND YOU WILL SOON HAVE NOTHING 
TO YIELD.'' 



THE NURSE AND THE WOLF 

" Be quiet now," said an old Nurse to a child sitting on 
her lap. "If you make that noise again I will throw you 
to the Wolf." 

Now it chanced that a Wolf was passing close under the 
window as this was said. So he crouched down by the side 
of the house and waited. "I am in good luck to-day," 
thought he. " It is sure to cry soon, and a daintier morsel 
I haven't had for many a long day." So he waited, and he 
waited, and he waited, till at last the child began to cry, and 
the Wolf came forward before the window, and looked up 
to the Nurse, wagging his tail. But all the Nurse did was 
to shut down the window and call for help, and the dogs 



30 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

of the house came rushing out. "Ah," said the Wolf as 
he galloped away, 

"enemies' promises were made to be broken/' 



THE TORTOISE AND THE BIRDS 

A Tortoise desired to change its place of residence, so he 
asked an Eagle to carry him to his new home, promising 
her a rich reward for her trouble. The Eagle agreed, and 
seizing the Tortoise by the shell with her talons, soared aloft. 
On their way they met a Crow, who said to the Eagle: 
" Tortoise is good eating." " The shell is too hard," said the 
Eagle in reply. " The rocks will soon crack the shell," was 
the Crow's answer; and the Eagle, taking the hint, let fall 
the Tortoise on a sharp rock, and the two birds made a 
hearty meal off the Tortoise. 



THE TWO CRABS 

One fine day two Crabs came out from their home to 
take a stroll on the sand. " Child," said the mother, " you are 
walking very ungracefully. You should accustom yourself 
to walking straight forward without twisting from side to 
side." 

"Pray, mother," said the young one, "do but set the 
example yourself, and I will follow you." 



THE ASS IN THE LION'S SKIN 

An Ass once found a Lion's skin which the hunters had 
left out in the sun to dry. He put it on and went towards 
his native village. All fled at his approach, both merf and 
animals, and he was a proud Ass that day. In his delight 
he lifted up his voice and brayed, but then every one knew 



iESOP'S FABLES 31 

him, and his owner came up and gave him a sound cudgel- 
ling for the fright he had caused. And shortly afterwards 
a Fox came up to him and said: "Ah, I knew you by your 
voice." 

"fine clothes may disguise, but silly words 
will disclose a fool." 



THE TWO FELLOWS AND THE BEAR 

Two Fellows were travelling together through a wood, 
when a Bear rushed out upon them. One of the travellers 
happened to be in front, and he seized hold of the branch 
of a tree, and hid himself among the leaves. The other, 
seeing no help for it, threw himself flat down upon the 
ground, with his face in the dust. The Bear, coming up 
to him, put his muzzle close to his ear, and sniffed and 
sniffed. But at last with a growl he shook his head and 
slouched off, for bears will not touch dead meat. Then 
the fellow in the tree came down to his comrade, and, 
laughing, said " What was it that Master Bruin whispered 
to you?" 

" He told me," said the other, 



THE TWO POTS 

Two Pots had been left on the bank of a river, one of 
brass, and one of earthenware. When the tide rose they 
both floated off down the stream. Now the earthenware 
pot tried its best to keep aloof from the brass one, which 
cried out : " Fear nothing, friend, I will not strike you." 

"But I may come in contact with you," said the other, 
"if I come too close; and whether I hit you, or you hit 
me, I shall suffer for it." 

" THE STRONG AND THE WEAK CANNOT KEEP COMPANY." 



32 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 



THE FOUR OXEN AND THE LION 

A Lion used to prowl about a field in which Four Oxen 
used to dwell. Many a time he tried to attack them; but 
whenever he came near they turned their tails to one an- 
other, so that whichever way he approached them he was 
met by the horns of one of them. At last, however, they 
fell a-quarrelling among themselves, and each went off 
to pasture alone in a separate corner of the field. Then 
the Lion attacked them one by one and soon made an end 
of all four. 

"united we stand, divided we fall." 



THE FISHER AND THE LITTLE FISH 

It happened that a Fisher, after fishing all day, caught only 
a little fish. " Pray, let me go," master," said the Fish. " I 
am much too small for your eating just now. If you put 
me back into the river I shall soon grow, then you can 
make a fine meal off me." 

" Nay, nay, my little Fish," said the Fisher, " I have you 
now. I may not catch you hereafter." 

"a little thing in hand is worth more than a great 
thing in prospect." 



AVARICIOUS AND ENVIOUS 

Two neighbours came before Jupiter and prayed him to 
grant their hearts' desire. Now the one was full of avarice, 
and the other eaten up with envy. So to punish them both, 
Jupiter granted that each might have whatever he wished 
for himself, but only on condition that his neighbour had 
twice as much. The Avaricious man prayed to have a 
room full of gold. No sooner said than done; but all his 
joy was turned to grief when he found that his neighbour 
had two rooms full of the precious metal. Then came the turn 
of the Envious man, who could not bear to think that his 



^SOP'S FABLES 33 

neighbour had any joy at all. So he prayed that he might 
have one of his own eyes put out, by which means his 
companion would become totally blind. 

"vices are their own punishment." 



THE CROW AND THE PITCHER 

A Crow, half-dead with thirst, came upon a Pitcher which 
had once been full of water; but when the Crow put its 
beak into the mouth of the Pitcher he found that only very 
little water was left in it, and that he could not reach far 
enough down to get at it. He tried, and he tried, but at last 
had to give up in despair. Then a thought came to him, 
and he took a pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher. Then 
he took another pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher. 
Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the 
Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that 
into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped 
that into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and 
dropped that into the Pitcher. At last, at last, he saw 
the water mount up near him, and after casting in a few 
more pebbles he was able to quench his thirst and save 
his life. 

" little by little does the trick." 



THE MAN AND THE SATYR 

A Man had lost his way in a wood one bitter winter's 
night. As he was roaming about, a Satyr came up to him, 
and finding that he had lost his way, promised to give him 
a lodging for the night, and guide him out of the forest 
in the morning. As he went along to the Satyr's cell, the 
Man raised both his hands to his mouth and kept on blow- 
ing at them. " What do you do that for ? " said the Satyr. 

" My hands are numb with the cold," said the Man, " and 
my breath warms them." 

After this they arrived at the Satyr's home, and soon 
the Satyr put a smoking dish of porridge before him. But 



34 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

when the Man raised his spoon to his mouth he began blow- 
ing upon it. " And what do you do that for ? " said the 
Satyr. 
" The porridge is too hot, and my breath will cool it." 
" Out you go," said the Satyr. " I will have nought to 
to do with a man who can blow hot and cold with the same 
breath." 



THE GOOSE WITH THE GOLDEN EGGS 

One day a countryman going to the nest of his Goose 
found there an Ggg all yellow and glittering. When he 
took it up it was as heavy as lead and he was going to 
throw it away, because he thought a trick had been played 
upon him. But he took it home on second thoughts, and 
soon found to his delight that it was an egg of pure gold. 
Every morning the same thing occurred, and he soon be- 
came rich by selling his eggs. As he grew rich he grew 
greedy; and thinking to get at once all the gold the Goose 
could give, he killed it and opened it only to find, — nothing. 

"greed oft o'erreaches itself." 



THE LABOURER AND THE NIGHTINGALE 

A Labourer lay listening to a Nightingale's song through- 
out the summer night. So pleased was he with it that the 
next night he set a trap for it and captured it. " Now 
that I have caught thee," he cried, **thou shalt always 
sing to me." 

" We Nightingales never sing in a cage," said the bird. 

" Then I'll eat thee," said the Labourer. " I have always 
heard say that nightingale on toast is a dainty morsel." 

" Nay, kill me not," said the Nightingale ; " but let me 
free, and I'll tell thee three things far better worth than 
my poor body." The Labourer let him loose, and he flew 
up to a branch of a tree and said: "Never believe a cap- 
tive's promise; that's one thing. Then again: Keep what. 



^SOP'S FABLES 35 

you have. And third piece of advice is: Sorrow not over 
what is lost forever." Then the song-bird flew away. 



THE FOX, THE COCK, AND THE DOG 

One moonlight night a Fox was prowling about a farmer's 
hencoop, and saw a Cock roosting high up beyond his reach. 
" Good news, good news ! " he cried. 

" Why, what is that ? " said the Cock. 

"King Lion has declared a universal truce. No beast 
may hurt a bird henceforth, but all shall dwell together 
in brotherly friendship." 

" Why, that is good news," said the Cock ; " and there I see 
some one coming, with whom we can share the good tid- 
ings." And so saying he craned his neck forward and 
looked afar off. 

" What is it you see ? " said the Fox. 

"It is only my master's Dog that is coming towards us. 
What, going so soon ? " he continued, as the Fox began 
to turn away as soon as he had heard the news. "Will 
you not stop and congratulate the Dog on the reign of 
universal peace ? " 

" I would gladly do so," said the Fox, " but I fear he may 
not have heard of King Lion's decree." 

" CUNNING OFTEN OUTWITS ITSELF." 



THE WIND AND THE SUN 

The Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the 
stronger. Suddenly they saw a traveller coming down the 
road, and the Sun said : "I see a way to decide our dispute. 
Whichever of us can cause that traveller to take off his 
cloak shall be regarded as the stronger. You begin." So 
the Sun retired behind a cloud, and the Wind began to blow 
as hard as it could upon the traveller. But the harder 
he blew the more closely did the traveller wrap his cloak 
round him, till at last the Wind had to give up in despair. 
Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon 



36 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

the traveller, who soon found it too hot to walk with his 
cloak on. 

" KINDNESS EFFECTS MORE THAN SEVERITY." 



HERCULES AND THE WAGGONER 

A Waggoner was once driving a heavy load along a very 
muddy way. At last he came to a part of the road where the 
wheels sank half-way into the mire, and the more the 
horses pulled, the deeper sank the wheels. So the Waggoner 
threw down his whip, and knelt down and prayed to Hercules 
the Strong. "O Hercules, help me in this my hour of 
distress," quoth he. But Hercules appeared to him, and said : 

" Tut, man, don't sprawl there. Get up and put your 
shoulder to the wheel." 

"the gods help them THAT HELP THEMSELVES." 



THE MAN, THE BOY, AND THE DONKEY 

A Man and his son were once going with their Donkey 
to market. As they were walking along by its side a coun- 
tryman passed them and said : " You fools, what is a Donkey 
for but to ride upon ? " 

So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on 
their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of 
whom said : " See that lazy youngster, he lets his father 
walk while he rides." 

So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. 
But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women, 
one of whom said to the other: "Shame on that lazy lout 
to let his poor little son trudge along." 

Well, the Man didn't know what to do, but at last he took 
his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they 
had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and 
point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were 
scoffing at. The men said : " Aren't you ashamed of your- 
self for overloading that poor Donkey of yours — you and 
your hulking son?" 



.ESOP'S FABLES 37 

The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. 
They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a 
pole, tied the Donkey's feet to it, and raised the pole and 
the Donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the 
laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, 
when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out 
and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the 
struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet 
being tied together he was drowned. 

" That will teach you," said an old man who had followed 
them: 



THE MISER 

Once upon a time there was a Miser who used to hide 
his gold at the foot of a tree in his garden ; but every week 
he used to go and dig it up and gloat over his gains. A 
robber, who had noticed this, went and dug up the gold and 
decamped with it. When the Miser next came to gloat 
over his treasures, he found nothing but the empty hole. 
He tore his hair, and raised such an outcry that all the 
neighbours came around him, and he told them how he 
used to come and visit his gold. " Did you ever take any 
of it out ? " asked one of them. 

" Nay," said he, " I only came to look at it." 
" Then come again and look at the hole," said a neighbour ; 
" it will do you just as much good." 

"wealth unused might as well not exist.'' 



THE FOX AND THE MOSQUITOES 

A Fox after crossing a river got its tail entangled in a 
bush, and could not move. A number of Mosquitoes seeing 
its plight settled upon it and enjoyed a good meal undisturbed 
by its tail. A hedgehog strolling by took pity upon the Fox 
and went up to him : " You are in a bad way, neighbour," 
said the hedgehog; "shall I relieve you by driving off those 
Mosquitoes who are sucking your blood ? " 

HC XVII— c 



38 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

" Thank you, Master Hedgehog," said the Fox, but I would 
rather not." 

" Why, how is that ? " asked the hedgehog. 

" Well, you see," was the answer, " these Mosquitoes have 
had their fill ; if you drive these away, others will come with 
fresh appetite and bleed me to death." 



THE FOX WITHOUT A TAIL 

It happened that a Fox caught its tail in a trap, and in 
struggling to release himself lost all of it but the stump. At 
first he was ashamed to show himself among his fellow foxes. 
But at last he determined to put a bolder face upon his mis- 
fortune, and summoned all the foxes to a general meeting 
to consider a proposal which he had to place before them. 
When they had assembled together the Fox proposed that 
they should all do away with their tails. He pointed out 
how inconvenient a tail was when they were pursued by 
their enemies, the dogs; how much it was in the way when 
they desired to sit down and hold a friendly conversation 
with one another. He failed to see any advantage in carry- 
ing about such a useless encumbrance. " That is all very 
well," said one of the older foxes ; " but I do not think you 
would have recommended us to dispense with our chief 
ornament if you had not happened to lose it yourself." 

" DISTRUST INTERESTED ADVICE." 



THE ONE-EYED DOE 

A Doe had had the misfortune to lose one of her eyes, and 
could not see any one approaching her on that side. So to 
avoid any danger she always used to feed on a high cliff 
near the sea, with her sound eye looking towards the land. 
By this means she could see whenever the hunters ap- 
proached her on land, and often escaped by this means. But 
the himters found out that she was blind of one eye, and 
hiring a boat rowed under the cliff where she used to feed 



^SOP'S FABLES 39 

and shot her from the sea. "Ah," cried she with her dying 
voice, 

"you cannot escape your fate." 



BELLING THE CAT 

Long ago, the mice had a general council to consider what 
measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the 
Cat. Some said this, and some said that; but at last a 
young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, 
which he thought would meet the case. " You will all agree," 
said he, " that our chief danger consists in the sly and treach- 
erous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if 
we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily 
escape from her. I venture, therefore, to propose that a 
small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round the 
neck of the Cat. By this means we should always know 
when she was about, and could easily retire while she was 
in the neighbourhood." 

This proposal met with general applause, until an old 
mouse got up and said : " That is all very well, but who is 
to bell the Cat ? " The mice looked at one another and no- 
body spoke. Then the old mouse said : 

" IT IS EASY TO PROPOSE IMPOSSIBLE REMEDIES." 



THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE 

The Hare was once boasting of his speed before the other 
animals. " I have never yet been beaten," said he, " when 
I put forth my full speed. I challenge any one here to race 
with me." 

The Tortoise said quietly, " I accept your challenge." 

" That is a good joke," said the Hare ; " I could dance 
round you all the way." 

" Keep your boasting till you've beaten," answered the 
Tortoise. " Shall we race ? " 

So a course was fixed and a start was made. The Hare 
darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to 



40 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap. 
The Tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the 
Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near 
the winning-post and could not run up in time to save the 
race. Then said the Tortoise : 

" PLODDING WINS THE RACE." 



THE OLD MAN AND DEATH 

An old labourer, bent double with age and toil, was gath- 
ering sticks in a forest. At last he grew so tired and hope- 
less that he threw down the bundle of sticks, and cried out : 
" I cannot bear this life any longer. Ah, I wish Death would 
only come and take me ! " 

As he spoke. Death, a grisly skeleton, appeared and said 
to him : " What wouldst thou. Mortal ? I heard thee call me." 

" Please, sir," replied the woodcutter, " would you kindly 
help me to lift this faggot of sticks on to my shoulder? " 

"we would often be sorry if our wishes 
were gratified." 



THE HARE WITH MANY FRIENDS 

A Hare was very popular with the other beasts who all 
claimed to be her friends. But one day she heard the hounds 
approaching and hoped to escape them by the aid of her 
many Friends. So she went to the horse, and asked him 
to carry her away from the hounds on his back. But he 
declined, stating that he had important work to do for his 
master. " He felt sure," he said, " that all her other friends 
would come to her assistance." She then applied to the bull, 
and hoped that he would repel the hounds with his horns. 
The bull replied : " I am very sorry, but I have an appoint- 
ment with a lady; but I feel sure that our friend the goat 
will do what you want." The goat, however, feared that 
his back might do her some harm if he took her upon it. 
The ram, he felt sure, was the proper friend to apply to. 
So she went to the ram and told him the case. The ram re- 



iESOP'S FABLES 41 

plied: "Another time, my dear friend. I do not like to 
interfere on the present occasion, as hounds have been known 
to eat sheep as well as hares." The Hare then applied, as 
a last hope, to the calf, who regretted that he was unable 
to help her, as he did not like to take the responsibility upon 
himself, as so many older persons than himself had declined 
the task. By this time the hounds were quite near, and the 
Hare took to her heels and luckily escaped. 

" HE THAT HAS MANY FRIENDS, HAS NO FRIENDS." 



THE LION IN LOVE 

A Lion once fell in love with a beautiful maiden and pro- 
posed marriage to her parents. The old people did not know 
what to say. They did not like to give their daughter to 
the Lion, yet they did not wish to enrage the King of Beasts. 
At last the father said : " We feel highly honoured by your 
Majesty's proposal, but you see our daughter is a tender 
young thing, and we fear that in the vehemence of your 
affection you might possibly do her some injury. Might I 
venture to suggest that your Majesty should have your claws 
removed, and your teeth extracted, then we would gladly 
consider your proposal again." The Lion was so much in 
love that he had his claws trimmed and his big teeth taken 
out. But when he came again to the parents of the young 
girl they simply laughed in his face, and bade him do his 
worst. 

"love can tame THE WILDEST." 



THE BUNDLE OF STICKS 

An old man on the point of death summoned his sons 
around him to give them some parting advice. He ordered 
his servants to bring in a faggot of sticks, and said to his 
eldest son : " Break it." The son strained and strained, but 
with all his efforts was unable to break the Bundle. The 
other sons also tried, but none of them was successful. 
" Untie the faggots," said the father, " and each of you take 



42 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

a stick." When they had done so, he called out to them: 
" Now, break," and each stick was easily broken. " You see 
my meaning," said their father. 

" UNION GIVES STRENGTH." 



THE LION, THE FOX, AND THE BEASTS 

The Lion once gave out that he was sick unto death and 
summoned the animals to come and hear his last Will and 
Testament. So the Goat came to the Lion's cave, and stopped 
there listening for a long time. Then a Sheep went in, and 
before she came out a Calf came up to receive the last wishes 
of the Lord of the Beasts. But soon the Lion seemed to 
recover, and came to the mouth of his cave, and saw the 
Fox, who had been waiting outside for some time. " Why 
do you not come to pay your respects to me ? " said the 
Lion to the Fox. 

"I beg your Majesty's pardon," said the Fox, "but I 
noticed the track of the animals that have already come to 
you; and while I see many hoof-marks going in, I see none 
coming out. Till the animals that have entered your cave 
come out again I prefer to remain in the open air." 

" IT IS EASIER TO GET INTO THE ENEMY'S TOILS 
THAN OUT AGAIN." 

THE ASS'S BRAINS 

The Lion and the Fox went hunting together. The 
Lion, on the advice of the Fox, sent a message to the Ass, 
proposing to make an alliance between their two families. 
The Ass came to the place of meeting, overjoyed at the 
prospect of a royal alliance. But when he came there 
the Lion simply pounced on the Ass, and said to the Fox: 
" Here is our dinner for to-day. Watch you here while I 
go and have a nap. Woe betide you if you touch my prey." 
The Lion went away and the Fox waited; but finding that 
his master did not return, ventured to take out the brains 
of the Ass and ate them up. When the Lion came back 
he soon noticed the absence of the brains, and asked the 



^SOP'S FABLES 43 

Fox in a terrible voice : " What have you done with the 
brains ? " 

" Brains, your Majesty ! it had none, or it would never 
have fallen into your trap." 

" WIT HAS ALWAYS AN ANSWER READY.'' 



THE EAGLE AND THE ARROW 

An Eagle was soaring through the air when suddenly it 
heard the whizz of an Arrow, and felt itself wounded to 
death. Slowly it fluttered down to the earth, with its life- 
blood pouring out of it. Looking down upon the Arrow 
with which it had been pierced, it found that the haft of 
the Arrow had been feathered with one of its own plumes. 
"Alas ! " it cried, as it died, 

" WE OFTEN GIVE OUR ENEMIES THE MEANS 
FOR OUR OWN DESTRUCTION.'' 



THE MILKMAID AND HER PAIL 

Patty the Milkmaid was going to market carrying her 
milk in a Pail on her head. As she went along she began 
calculating what she would do with the money she would 
get for the milk. " I'll buy some fowls from Farmer 
Brown," said she, " and they will lay eggs each morning, 
which I will sell to the parson's wife. With the money 
that I get from the sale of these eggs I'll buy myself a 
new dimity frock and a chip hat; and when I go to market, 
won't all the young men come up and speak to me! Polly 
Shaw will be that jealous; but I don't care. I shall just 
look at her and toss my head like this." As she spoke 
she tossed her head back, the Pail fell off it and all the 
milk was spilt. So she had to go home and tell her mother 
what had occurred. 

"Ah, my child," said the mother, 

" DO NOT COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE 
THEY ARE HATCHED." 



44 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

THE CAT-MAIDEN 

The gods were once disputing whether it wa§ possible 
for a living being to change its nature. Jupiter said " Yes," 
but Venus said " No." So, to try the question, Jupiter 
turned a Cat into a Maiden, and gave her to a young man 
for a wife. The wedding was duly performed and the young 
couple sat down to the wedding-feast. " See," said Jupiter 
to Venus, " how becomingly she behaves. Who could tell 
that yesterday she was but a Cat? Surely her nature is 
changed ? " 

"Wait a minute," replied Venus, and let loose a mouse 
into the room. No sooner did the bride see this than she 
jumped up from her seat and tried to pounce upon the 
mouse. " Ah, you see," said Venus, 

" NATURE WILL OUT.'' 



THE HORSE AND THE ASS 

A Horse and an Ass were travelling together, the Horse 
prancing along in its fine trappings, the Ass carrying with 
difficulty the heavy weight in its panniers. " I wish I were 
you," sighed the Ass ; " nothing to do and well fed, and all 
that fine harness upon you." Next day, however, there 
was a great battle, and the Horse was wounded to death 
in the final charge of the day. His friend, the Ass, hap- 
pened to pass by shortly afterwards and found him on the 
point of death. " I was wrong," said the Ass : 

" BETTER HUMBLE SECURITY THAN GILDED DANGER." 



THE TRUMPETER TAKEN PRISONER 

A Trumpeter during a battle ventured too near the enemy 
and was captured by them. They were about to proceed to 
put him to death when he begged them to hear his plea for 
mercy. "I do not fight," said he, "and indeed carry no 
weapon; I only blow this trumpet, and surely that can- 
not harm you ; then why should you kill me ? " 



^SOP'S FABLES 45 

" You may not fight yourself," said the others, " but you 
encourage and guide your men to the fight." 

" WORDS MAY BE DEEDS."" 



THE BUFFOON AND THE COUNTRYMAN 

At a country fair there was a Buffoon who made all the 
people laugh by imitating the cries of various animals. He 
finished off by squeaking so like a pig that the spectators 
thought that he had a porker concealed about him. But 
a Countryman who stood by said : " Call that a pig's squeak ! 
Nothing like it. You give me till to-morrow and I will 
show you what it's like." The audience laughed, but next 
day, sure enough, the Countryman appeared on the stage, 
and putting his head down squealed so hideously that the 
spectators hissed and threw stones at him to make him stop. 
" You fools ! " he cried, " see what you have been hissing," 
and held up a little pig whose ear he had been pinching 
to make him utter the squeals. 

" MEN OFTEN APPLAUD AN IMITATION AND 
HISS THE REAL THING." 



THE OLD WOMAN AND THE WINE-JAR 

You must know that sometimes old women like a glass 
of wine. One of this sort once found a Wine-jar lying 
in the road, and eagerly went up to it hoping to find it 
full. But when she took it up she found that all the wine 
had been drunk out of it. Still she took a long sniff at the 
mouth of the Jar. "Ah," she cried, 

" WHAT MEMORIES CLING 'rOUND THE INSTRUMENTS 
OF OUR pleasure/' 



46 iESOP'S FABLES 

THE FOX AND THE GOAT 

By an unlucky chance a Fox fell into a deep well from 
which he could not get out. A Goat passed by shortly 
afterwards, and asked the Fox what he was doing down 
there. " Oh, have you not heard ? " said the Fox ; " there 
is going to be a great drought, so I jumped down here in 
order to be sure to have water by me. Why don't you come 
too?" The Goat thought well of this advice, and jumped 
down into the well. But the Fox immediately jumped on 
her back, and by putting his foot on her long horns managed 
to jump up to the edge of the well. " Good-bye, friend," 
said the Fox, " remember next time, 

" NEVER TRUST THE ADVICE OF A MAN IN DIFFICULTIES." 

And this is the end of ^sop's Fables. Hurrah ! 



GRIMM'S 

HOUSEHOLD 

TALES 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

The "Kinder-und Hausmdrchen" of the brothers Grimm was 
the first deliberate attempt to preserve in their pure form the 
traditional domestic tales of the German people. The stories 
published in their volumes of 1812 and 1815, and revised and 
added to in successive editions, were collected by them chiefly 
from the mouths of the peasantry in their native county of 
Hanau in Prussia and in Hesse, but the other provinces of Ger- 
many, as well as German Austria and Switzerland, also con- 
tributed. It was the aim of the collectors, carried out with great 
fidelity and a remarkable instinct for the truly popular, to avoid 
all additions, logical or artistic; to retain as far as possible the 
actual language of the peasants, and to eliminate all foreign and 
sophisticated elements. 

The result of their labors, extending through a long stretch of 
years, was twofold: they produced one of the most delightful 
story books in the world, and they preserved for the scientific 
student of mythology and folk-lore a mass of invaluable material 
which was even then beginning to disappear. Further, in the dis- 
cussion and classification of variant forms of these tales, gathered 
in different parts of the world, they advanced notably the science 
of comparative mythology. 

Wilhelm Grimm, the younger brother, who did the greater part 
of the work of collecting and revising, was born at Hanau on 
February 24, 1786. Together with Jakob, he acted as librarian at 
Cassel, and professor at Gottingen and at Berlin, where he died, 
December 16, 1859. Besides the works in which he collaborated 
with his brother, he produced an important book on the German 
Heroic Legend. 

The elder brother, Jakob, was born in 1785, also at Hanau, 
and died in Berlin in 1863. He is chiefly distinguished for his 
work in Germanic philology, his German Grammar being practi- 
cally the foundation work of this branch of learning. The broth- 
ers lived in the closest intimacy, occupying the same house and 
often working on the same subjects, and both the great German 
Dictionary known by their name and the collection of "Mdrchen" 
from which the following stories are taken were the result of this 
collaboration. 

48 



CONTENTS 

GRIMM'S TALES- 



PAGE 



The Frog-King, or Iron Henry 51 

Our Lady's Child 54 

Faithful John 61 

The Pack of Ragamuffins 69 

Rapunzel , 71 

The Three Little Men in the Wood 74 

The Three Spinners 80 

Hansel and Grethel 82 

The Fisherman and His Wife 89 

The Valiant Little Tailor 97 

Cinderella 104 

Mother Holle iii 

The Seven Ravens 114 

Little Red-Cap 116 

The Bremen Town-Musicians 120 

The Girl Without Hands 123 

Clever Elsie 129 

Thumbling 132 

Thumbling as Journeyman i37 

The Six Swans 141 

Little Briar- Rose 146 

Fundevogel 149 

King Thrushbeard 151 

Little Snow-White i55 

RUMPELSTILTSKIN 164 

The Three Feathers i66 

The Golden Goose 169 

Allerleirauh 172 

The Wolf and the Fox ^17 

Hans in Luck i79 

The Goose-Girl 184 

The Peasant's Wise Daughter 190 



50 CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Spirit in the Bottle 193 

Bearskin 197 

The Willow- Wren and the Bear 201 

Wise Folks 204 

The Shroud 207 

The Two Kings' Children 208 

The Seven Swabians 216 

One- Eye, Two-Eyes, and Three-Eyes 219 

Snow-White and Rose-Red 226 



FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 
GRIMM'S TALES 

THE FROG-KING, OR IRON HENRY 

IN old times when wishing still helped one, there lived 
a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the 
youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which has 
seen so much, was astonished wherever it shone in her 
face. Close by the King's castle lay a great dark forest, 
and under an old lime-tree in the forest was a well, and 
when the day was very warm, the King's child went out 
into the forest and sat down by the side of the cool fountain, 
and when she was dull she took a golden ball, and threw 
it up on high and caught it, and this ball was her favourite 
plaything. 

Now it so happened that on one occasion the princess's 
golden ball did not fall into the little hand which she was 
holding up for it, but on to the ground beyond, and rolled 
straight into the water. The King's daughter followed it 
with her eyes, but it vanished, and the well was deep, so 
deep that the bottom could not be seen. On this she began 
to cry, and cried louder and louder, and could not be com- 
forted. And as she thus lamented, some one said to her, 
" What ails thee, King's daughter ? Thou weepest so that 
even a stone would show pity." She looked round to the 
side from whence the voice came, and saw a frog stretching 
forth its thick, ugly head from the water. " Ah ! old water' 
splasher, is it thou?" said she; "I am weeping for my 
golden ball, which has fallen into the well." 

" Be quiet, and do not weep," answered the frog. " I 
can help thee, but what wilt thou give me if I bring thy 
plaything up again ? " " Whatever thou wilt have, dear 
frog," said she — " my clothes, my pearls and jewels, and 
even the golden crown which I am wearing." 

51 



52 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

The frog answered, " I do not care for thy clothes, thy 
pearls and jewels, or thy golden crown, but if thou wilt 
love me and let me be thy companion and play-fellow, and 
sit by thee at thy little table, and eat off thy little golden 
plate, and drink out of thy little cup, and sleep in thy little 
bed — if thou wilt promise me this I will go down below, 
and bring thee thy golden ball up again." 

" Oh, yes," said she, " I promise thee all thou wishest, 
if thou wilt but bring me my ball back again." She, how- 
ever, thought, " How silly the frog does talk ! He lives in 
the water with the other frogs and croaks, and can be no 
companion to any human being ! " 

But the frog when he had received this promise put 
his head into the water and sank down, and in a short time 
came swimming up again with the ball in his mouth, 
and threw it on the grass. The King's daughter was de- 
lighted to see her pretty plaything once more, and picked it 
up, and ran away with it. " Wait, wait," said the frog. 
" Take me with thee. I can't run as thou canst." But what 
did it avail him to scream his croak, croak, after her, as 
loudly as he could? She did not listen to it, but ran home 
and soon forgot the poor frog, who was forced to go back 
into his well again. 

The next day when she had seated herself at table with 
the King and all the courtiers, and was eating from her 
little golden plate, something came creeping splish, splash, 
splish, splash, up the marble staircase, and when it had 
got to the top, it knocked at the door and cried, *' Princess, 
youngest princess, open the door for me." She ran to see 
who was outside, but when she opened the door, there 
sat the frog in front of it. Then she slammed the door to, 
in great haste, sat down to. dinner again, and was quite 
frightened. The King saw plainly that her heart was beat- 
ing violently, and said, " My child, what art thou so afraid 
of? Is there perchance a giant outside who wants to 
carry thee away ? " "Ah, no," replied she, " it is no giant, 
but a disgusting frog." 

" What does the frog want with thee ? " "Ah, dear father, 
yesterday when I was in the forest sitting by the well, 
playing, my golden ball fell into the water. And because 



GRIMM'S TALES 53 

I cried so the frog brought it out again for me, and because 
he insisted so on it, I promised him he should be my com- 
panion, but I never thought he would be able to come out 
of his water ! And now he is outside there, and wants to 
come in to me." 
In the meantime it knocked a second time, and cried, 

"Princess 1 youngest princess I 
Open the door for me ! 
Dost thou not know what thou saidst to me 
Yesterday by the cool waters of the fountain? 
Princess, youngest princess 1 
Open the door for me 1" 

Then said the King, " That which thou hast promised 
must thou perform. Go and let him in." She went and 
opened the door, and the frog hopped in and followed her, 
step by step to her chair. There he sat still and cried, 
" Lift me up beside thee." She delayed, until at last the 
King commanded her to do it. When the frog was once 
on the chair he wanted to be on the table, and when he 
was on the table he said, " Now, push thy little golden 
plate nearer to me that we may eat together." She did 
this, but it was easy to see that she did not do it willingly. 
The frog enjoyed what he ate, but almost every mouthful 
she took choked her. At length he said, " I have eaten 
and am satisfied; now I am tired, carry me into thy little 
room and make thy little silken bed ready, and we will 
both lie down and go to sleep." 

The King's daughter began to cry, for she was afraid of 
the cold frog which she did not like to touch, and which 
was now to sleep in her pretty, clean little bed. But the 
King grew angry and said, " He who helped thee when thou 
wert in trouble ought not afterwards to be despised by 
thee." So she took hold of the frog with two fingers, car- 
ried him upstairs, and put him in a corner. But when she 
was in bed he crept to her and said, " I am tired, I want 
to sleep as well as thou, lift me up or I will tell thy father." 
Then she was terribly angry, and took him up and threw 
him with all her might against the wall : " Now, thou 
wilt be quiet, odious frog," said she. But when he fell 

HO XVII-- D 



54 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

down he was no frog but a king's son with beautiful, kind 
eyes. He by her father's will was now her dear companion 
and husband. Then he told her how he had been bewitched 
by a wicked witch, and how no one could have delivered 
him from the well but herself, and that to-morrow they 
would go together into his kingdom. Then they went to 
sleep, and next morning when the sun awoke them, a car- 
riage came driving up with eight white horses, which had 
white ostrich feathers on their heads, and were harnessed 
with golden chains, and behind stood the young King's 
servant, faithful Henry. Faithful Henry had been so un- 
happy when his master was changed into a frog, that he 
had caused three iron bands to be laid round his heart, lest 
it should burst with grief and sadness. The carriage was 
to conduct the young King into his kingdom. Faithful 
Henry helped them both in, and placed himself behind again, 
and was full of joy because of this deliverance. And when 
they had driven a part of the way, the King's son heard 
a cracking behind him as if something had broken. So he 
turned round and cried, "Henry, the carriage is breaking." 

" No, master, it is not the carriage. It is a band from 
my heart, which was put there in my great pain when 
you were a frog and imprisoned in the well." Again and 
once again while they were on their way something cracked, 
and each time the King's son thought the carriage was 
breaking; but it was only the bands which were springing 
from the heart of faithful Henry because his master was 
set free and was happy. 



OUR LADY'S CHILD 

Hard by a great forest dwelt a wood-cutter with his wife, 
who had an only child, a little girl of three years old. They 
were, however, so poor that they no longer had daily bread, 
and did not know how to get food for her. One morning 
the wood-cutter went out sorrowfully to his work in the 
forest, and while he was cutting wood, suddenly there stood 
before him a tall and beautiful woman with a crown of shin- 
ing stars on her head, who said to him, *T am the Virgin 



GRIMM'S TALES 55 

Mary, mother of the child Jesus. Thou art poor and needy, 
bring thy child to me, I will take her with me to be her mother, 
and care for her." The wood-cutter obeyed, brought his child, 
and gave her to the Virgin Mary, who took her up to heaven 
with her. There the child fared well, ate sugar-cakes, and 
drank sweet milk, and her clothes were of gold, and the little 
angels played with her. And when she was fourteen years 
of age, the Virgin Mary called her one day and said, "Dear 
child, I am about to make a long journey, so take into thy 
keeping the keys of the thirteen doors of heaven. Twelve of 
these thou mayest open, and behold the glory which is within 
them, but the thirteenth, to which this little key belongs, is 
forbidden to thee. Beware of opening it, or thou wilt bring 
misery on thyself." The girl promised to be obedient, and 
when the Virgin Mary was gone, she began to examine the 
dwellings of the kingdom of heaven. Each day she opened 
one of them, until she had made the round of the twelve. In 
each of them sat one of the Apostles in the midst of a great 
light, and she rejoiced in all the magnificence and splendour, 
and the little angels who always accompanied her rejoiced 
with her. Then the forbidden door alone remained, and she 
felt a great desire to know what could be hidden behind it, 
and said to the angels, " I will not quite open it, and I will 
not go inside it, but I will unlock it so that we can just see a 
little through the opening." " Oh, no," said the little angels, 
" that would be a sin. The Virgin Mary has forbidden it, 
and it might easily cause thy unhappiness." Then she was 
silent, but the desire in her heart was not stilled, but gnawed 
there and tormented her, and let her have no rest. And once 
when the angels had all gone out, she thought, " Now I am 
quite alone, and I could peep in. If I do it, no one will ever 
know." She sought out the key, and when she had got it in 
her hand, she put it in the lock, and when she had put it in, 
she turned it round as well. Then the door sprang open, and 
she saw there the Trinity sitting in fire and splendour. She 
stayed there awhile, and looked at everything in amazement ; 
then she touched the light a little with her finger, and her 
finger became quite golden. Immediately a great fear fell on 
her. She shut the door violently, and ran away. Her ter- 
ror too would not quit her, let her do what she might, and 



56 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

her heart beat continually, and would not be still; the gold 
too stayed on her finger, and would not go away, let her rub 
it and wash it ever so much. 

It was not long before the Virgin Mary came back from 
her journey. She called the girl before her, and asked to 
have the keys of heaven back. When the maiden gave her 
the bunch, the Virgin looked into her eyes and said, " Hast 
thou not opened the thirteenth door also ? " " No," she re- 
plied. Then she laid her hand on the girl's heart, and felt 
how it beat and beat, and saw right well that she had dis- 
obeyed her order and had opened the door. Then she said 
once again, " Art thou certain that thou hast not done it ? " 
" Yes," said the girl, for the second time. Then she per- 
ceived the finger which had become golden from touching the 
fire of heaven, and saw well that the child had sinned, and said 
for the third time, " Hast thou not done it ? " " No," said the 
girl for the third time. Then said the Virgin Mary, " Thou 
hast not obeyed me, and besides that thou hast lied, thou art 
no longer worthy to be in heaven." 

Then the girl fell into a deep sleep, and when she awoke she 
lay on the earth below, and in the midst of a wilderness. She 
wanted to cry out, but she could bring forth no sound. She 
sprang up and wanted to run away, but whithersoever she 
turned herself, she was continually held back by thick hedges 
of thorns through which she could not break. In the desert, 
in which she was imprisoned, there stood an old hollow tree, 
and this had to be her dwelling place. Into this she crept 
when night came, and here she slept. Here, too, she found a 
shelter from storm and rain, but it was a miserable life, and 
bitterly did she weep when she remembered how happy she 
had been in heaven, and how the angels had played with her. 
Roots and wildberries were her only food, and for these she 
sought as far as she could go. In the autumn she picked up 
the fallen nuts and leaves, and carried them into the hole. 
The nuts were her food in winter, and when snow and ice 
came, she crept amongst the leaves like a poor little animal 
that she might not freeze. Before long her clothes were all 
torn, and one bit of them after another fell off her. As soon, 
however, as the sun shone warm again, she went out and sat 
in front of the tree, and her long hair covered her on all 



GRIMM'S TALES 57 

sides like a mantle. Thus she sat year after year, and felt 
the pain and misery of the world. One day, when the trees 
were once more clothed in fresh green, the King of the coun- 
try was hunting in the forest, and followed a roe, and as it 
had fled into the thicket which shut in this bit of the forest, 
he got off his horse, tore the bushes asunder, and cut himself 
a path with his sword. When he had at last forced his way 
through, he saw a wonderfully beautiful maiden sitting under 
the tree ; and she sat there and was entirely covered with her 
golden hair down to her very feet. He stood still and looked 
at her full of surprise, then he spoke to her and said, " Who 
art thou? Why art thou sitting here in the wilderness?" 
But she gave no answer, for she could not open her mouth. 
The King continued, " Wilt thou go with me to my castle ? " 
Then she just nodded her head a little. The King took her 
in his arms, carried her to his horse, and rode home with her, 
and when he reached the royal castle he caused her to be 
dressed in beautiful garments, and gave her all things in 
abundance. Although she could not speak, she was still so 
beautiful and charming that he began to love her with all 
his heart, and it was not long before he married her. 

After a year or so had passed, the Queen brought a son 
into the world. Thereupon the Virgin Mary appeared to her 
in the night when she lay in her bed alone, and said, "If thou 
wilt tell the truth and confess that thou didst unlock the for- 
bidden door, I will open thy mouth and give thee back thy 
speech, but if thou perseverest in thy sin, and deniest obsti- 
nately, I will take thy new born child away with me." Then 
the Queen was permitted to answer, but she remained hard, 
and said, " No, I did not open the forbidden door " ; and the 
Virgin Mary took the new-born child from her arms, and van- 
ished with it. Next morning, when the child was not to be 
found, it was whispered among the people that the Queen 
was a man-eater, and had killed her own child. She heard 
all this and could say nothing to the contrary, but the King 
would not believe it, for he loved her so much. 

When a year had gone by the Queen again bore a son, and 
in the night the Virgin Mary again came to her, and said, 
"If thou wilt confess that thou openedst the forbidden door, 
I will give thee thy child back and untie thy tongue; but if 



58 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

thou continuest in sin and deniest it, I will take away with 
me this new child also." Then the Queen again said, "No, 
I did not open the forbidden door " ; and the Virgin took the 
child out of her arms, and away with her to heaven. Next 
morning, when this child also had disappeared, the people de- 
clared quite loudly that the Queen had devoured it, and the 
King's councillors demanded that she should be brought to 
justice. The King, however, loved her so dearly that he 
would not believe it, and commanded the councillors under 
pain of death not to say any more about it. 

The following year the Queen gave birth to a beautiful 
little daughter, and for the third time the Virgin Mary ap- 
peared to her in the night and said, " Follow me." She took 
the Queen by the hand and led her to heaven, and showed 
her there her two eldest children, who smiled at her, and 
were playing with the ball of the world. When the Queen 
rejoiced thereat, the Virgin Mary said, "Is thy heart not yet 
softened? If thou wilt own that thou openedst the forbidden 
door, I will give thee back thy two little sons." But for the 
third time the Queen answered, " No, I did not open the for- 
bidden door." Then the Virgin let her sink down to earth 
once more, and took from her likewise her third child. 

Next morning, when the loss was reported abroad, all the 
people cried loudly, " The Queen is a man-eater ! She must 
be judged," and the King was no longer able to restrain his 
councillors. Thereupon a trial was held, and as she could 
not answer, and defend herself, she was condemned to be 
burnt alive. The wood was got together, and when she was 
fast bound to the stake, and the fire began to burn round 
about her, the hard ice of pride melted, her heart was moved 
by repentance, and she thought, " If I could but confess be- 
fore my death that I opened the door." Then her voice came 
back to her, and she cried out loudly, " Yes, Mary, I did it " ; 
and straightway rain fell from the sky and extinguished the 
flames of fire, and a light broke forth above her, and the 
Virgin Mary descended with the two little sons by her side, 
and the new-born daughter in her arms. She spoke kindly 
to her, and said, " He who repents his sin and acknowledges 
it, is forgiven." Then she gave her the three children, untied 
her tongue, and granted her happiness for her whole life. 



GRIMM'S TALES 59 



THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE KIDS 

There was once on a time an old goat who had seven 
little kids, and loved them with all the love of a mother 
for her children. One day she wanted to go into the 
forest and fetch some food. So she called all seven to 
her and said, "Dear children, I have to go into the forest, be 
on your guard against the wolf; if he come in, he will de- 
vour you all — skin, hair, and all. The wretch often disguises 
himself, but you will know him at once by his rough voice 
and his black feet." The kids said, " Dear mother, we will 
take good care of ourselves; you may go away without any 
anxiety." Then the old one bleated, and went on her way 
with an easy mind. 

It was not long before some one knocked at the house- 
door and cried, "Open the door, dear children; your mother 
is here, and has brought something back with her for each 
of you." But the little kids knew that it was the wolf, by 
the rough voice ; " We will not open the door," cried they, 
"thou art not our mother. She has a soft, pleasant voice, 
but thy voice is rough ; thou art the wolf !" Then the wolf 
went away to a shopkeeper and bought himself a great lump 
of chalk, ate this and made his voice soft with it. Then he 
came back, knocked at the door of the house, and cried, 
" Open the door, dear children, your mother is here and has 
brought something back with her for each of you." But the 
wolf had laid his black paws against the window, and the 
children saw them and cried, "We will not open the door, 
our mother has not black feet like thee : thou art the wolf ! " 
Then the wolf ran to a baker and said, " I have hurt my feet, 
rub some dough over them for me." And when the baker 
had rubbed his feet over, he ran to the miller and said, 
" Strew some white meal over my feet for me." The miller 
thought to himself, " The wolf wants to deceive some one," 
and refused; but the wolf said, "If thou wilt not do it, I 
will devour thee." Then the miller was afraid, and made 
his paws white for him. Truly men are like that. 

So now the wretch went for the third time to the house- 
door, knocked at it and said, " Open the door for me, chil- 



60 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

dren, your dear little mother has come home, and has brought 
every one of you something back from the forest with her." 
The Httle kids cried, " First show us thy paws that we may 
know if thou art our dear Httle mother." Then he put his 
paws in through the window, and when the kids saw that they 
were white, they believed that all he said was true, and 
opened the door. But who should come in but the wolf ! They 
were terrified and wanted to hide themselves. One sprang 
under the table, the second into the bed, the third into the 
stove, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cup- 
board, the sixth under the washing-bowl, and the seventh 
into the clock-case. But the wolf found them all, and used 
no great ceremony; one after the other he swallowed them 
down his throat. The youngest in the clock-case was the 
only one he did not find. When the wolf had satisfied his 
appetite he took himself off, laid himself down under a tree 
in the green meadow outside, and began to sleep. Soon after- 
wards the old goat came home again from the forest ! Ah ! 
what a sight she saw there ! The house-door stood wide open. 
The table, chairs, and benches were thrown down, the wash- 
ing-bowl lay broken to pieces, and the quilts and pillows were 
pulled off the bed. She sought her children, but they were 
nowhere to be found. She called them one after another by 
name, but no one answered. At last, when she came to the 
youngest, a soft voice cried, " Dear mother, I am in the 
clock-case." She took the kid out, and it told her that the 
wolf had come and had eaten all the others. Then you may 
imagine how she wept over her poor children. 

At length in her grief she went out, and the youngest kid 
ran with her. When they came to the meadow, there lay the 
wolf by the tree and snored so loud that the branches shook. 
She looked at him on every side and saw that something was 
moving and struggling in his gorged body. " Ah, heavens," 
said she, " is it possible that my poor children whom he has 
swallowed down for his supper, can be still alive ? " Then 
the kid had to run home and fetch scissors, and a needle and 
thread, and the goat cut open the monster's stomach, and 
hardly had she made one cut, than one little kid thrust its 
head out, and when she had cut farther, all six sprang out 
one after another, and were all still alive, and had suffered 



GRIMM'S TALES 61 

no injury whatever, for in his greediness the monster had 
swallowed them down whole. What rejoicing there was! 
Then they embraced their dear mother, and jumped like a 
tailor at his wedding. The mother, however, said, " Now go 
and look for some big stones, and we will fill the wicked 
beast's stomach with them while he is still asleep/' Then the 
seven kids dragged the stones thither with all speed, and put 
as many of them into his stomach as they could get in; and 
the mother sewed him up again in the greatest haste, so that 
he was not aware of anything and never once stirred. 

When the wolf at length had had his sleep out, he got 
on his legs, and as the stones in his stomach made him very 
thirsty, he wanted to go to a well to drink. But when he 
began to walk and to move about, the stones in his stomach 
knocked against each other and rattled. Then cried he, 

"What rumbles and tumbles 
Against my poor bones? 
1 thought 'twas six kids, 
But it's naught but big stones." 

And when he got to the well and stooped over the water 
and was just about to drink, the heavy stones made him fall 
in and there was no help, but he had to drown miserably. 
When the seven kids saw that, they came running to the spot 
and cried aloud, " The wolf is dead ! The wolf is dead ! " and 
danced for joy round about the well with their mother. 



FAITHFUL JOHN 

There was once on a time an old king who was ill, and 
thought to himself, "I am lying on what must be my 
death-bed." ^ Then said he, "Tell Faithful John to come 
to me." Faithful John was his favourite servant, and 
was so called, because he had for his whole life long been so 
true to him. When therefore he came beside the bed, the 
King said to him, " Most faithful John, I feel my end ap- 
proaching, and have no anxiety except about my son. He is 
still of tender age, and cannot always know how to guide 
himself. If thou dost not promise me to teach him everything 



62 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

that he ought to know, and to be his foster-father, I cannot 
close my eyes in peace." Then answered Faithful John, " I 
will not forsake him, and will serve him with fidelity, even if 
it should cost me my life." On this, the old King said, " Now 
I die in comfort and peace." Then he added, "After my 
death, thou shalt show him the whole castle : all the chambers, 
halls, and vaults, and all the treasures which lie therein, but 
the last chamber in the long gallery, in which is the picture 
of the princess of the Golden Dwelling, shalt thou not show. 
If he sees that picture, he will fall violently in love with her, 
and will drop down in a swoon, and go through great danger 
for her sake, therefore thou must preserve him from that." 
And when Faithful John had once more given his promise to 
the old King about this, the King said no more, but laid his 
head on his pillow, and died. 

When the old King had been carried to his grave, Faithful 
John told the young King all that he had promised his father 
on his deathbed, and said, " This will I assuredly perform, 
and will be faithful to thee as I have been faithful to him, 
even if it should cost me my life." When the mourning was 
over, Faithful John said to him: "It is now time that thou 
shouldst see thine inheritance. I will show thee thy father's 
palace." Then he took him about everywhere, up and down, 
and let him see all the riches, and the magnificent apart- 
ments, only there was one room which he did not open, 
that in which hung the dangerous picture. The picture 
was, however, so placed that when the door was opened 
you looked straight on it, and it was so admirably painted 
that it seemed to breathe and live, and there was nothing 
more charming or more beautiful in the whole world. The 
young King, however, plainly remarked that Faithful John 
always walked past this one door, and said, " Why dost thou 
never open this one for me?" "There is something within 
it," he replied, "which would terrify thee." But the King 
answered, " I have seen all the palace, and I will know what 
is in this room also," and he went and tried to break open 
the door by force. Then Faithful John held him back and 
said, " I promised thy father before his death that thou 
shouldst not see that which is in this chamber, it might 
bring the greatest misfortune on thee and on me." "Ah, 



GRIMM'S TALES 63 

no," replied the young King, "if I do not go in, it will be 
my certain destruction. I should have no rest day or night 
until I had seen it with my own eyes. I shall not leave 
the place now until thou hast unlocked the door." 

Then Faithful John saw that there was no help for it now, 
and with a heavy heart and many sighs, sought out the key 
from the great bunch. When he had opened the door, he 
went in first, and thought by standing before him he could 
hide the portrait so that the King should not see it in 
front of him, but what availed that? The King stood on 
tip-toe and saw it over his shoulder. And when he saw the 
portrait of the maiden, which was so magnificent and shone 
with gold and precious stones, he fell fainting on the ground. 
Faithful John took him up, carried him to his bed, and sor- 
rowfully thought, " The misfortune has befallen us, Lord 
God, what will be the end of it?" Then he strengthened 
him with wine, until he came to himself again. The first 
words the King said, were, "Ah, the beautiful portrait! 
whose is it?" "That is the princess of the Golden Dwell- 
ing," answered Faithful John. Then the King continued, 
" My love for her is so great, that if all the leaves on all 
the trees were tongues, they could not declare it. I will 
give my life to win her. Thou art my most Faithful John, 
thou must help me." 

The faithful servant considered within himself for a long 
time how to set about the matter, for it was difficult even 
to obtain a sight of the King's daughter. At length he 
thought of a way, and said to the King, " Everything which 
she has about her is of gold — tables, chairs, dishes, glasses, 
bowls, and household furniture. Among thy treasures are 
five tons of gold; let one of the goldsmiths of the kingdom 
work these up into all manner of vessels and utensils, into 
all kinds of birds, wild beasts and strange animals, such as 
may please her, and we will go there with them and try our 
luck." 

The King ordered all the goldsmiths to be brought to him, 
and they had to work night and day until at last the most 
splendid things were prepared. When everything was stowed 
on board a ship, Faithful John put on the dress of a mer- 
chant, and the King was forced to do the same in order 



64 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

to make himself quite unrecognizable. Then they sailed 
across the sea, and sailed on until they came to the town 
wherein dwelt the princess of the Golden Dwelling. 

Faithful John bade the King stay behind on the ship, 
and wait for him. "Perhaps I shall bring the princess with 
me," said he, " therefore see that everything is in order ; 
have the golden vessels set out and the whole ship decorated." 
Then he gathered together in his apron all kinds of gold 
things, went on shore and walked straight to the royal palace. 
When he entered the courtyard of the palace, a beautiful 
girl was standing there by the well with two golden buckets in 
her hand, drawing water with them. And when she was just 
turning round to carry away the sparkling water she saw 
the stranger, and asked who he was. So he answered, " I 
am a merchant," and opened his apron, and let her look in. 
Then she cried, " Oh, what beautiful gold things ! " and put 
her pails down and looked at the golden wares one after the 
other. Then said the girl, " The princess must see these, 
she has such great pleasure in golden things, that she will 
buy all you have." She took him by the hand and led him 
upstairs, for she was the waiting-maid. When the King's 
daughter saw the wares, she was quite delighted and said, 
" They are so beautifully worked, that I will buy them all of 
thee." But Faithful John said, " I am only the servant of 
a rich merchant. The things I have here are not to be com- 
pared with those my master has in his ship. They are the 
most beautiful and valuable things that have ever been made 
in gold." She wanted to have everything brought to her 
there, but he said, " There are so many of them that it 
would take a great many days to do that, and so many rooms 
would be required to exhibit them, that your house is not big 
enough." Then her curiosity and longing were still more 
excited, until at last she said, " Conduct me to the ship, I will 
go there myself, and behold the treasures of thy master." 

On this Faithful John was quite delighted, and led her to 
the ship, and when the King saw her, he perceived that her 
beauty was even greater than the picture had represented it 
to be, and thought no other than that his heart would burst in 
twain. Then she got into the ship, and the King led her 
within. Faithful John, however, remained behind with the 



GRIMM'S TALES 65 

pilot, and ordered the ship to be pushed off, saying, " Set all 
sail, till it fly like a bird in air." Within, however, the King 
showed her the golden vessels, every one of them, also the 
wild beasts and strange animals. Many hours went by whilst 
she was seeing everything, and in her delight she did not 
observe that the ship was sailing away. After she had 
looked at the last, she thanked the merchant and wanted to 
go home, but when she came to the side of the ship, she saw 
that it was on the deep sea far from land, and hurrying on- 
wards with all sail set. "Ah," cried she in her alarm, " I am 
betrayed ! I am carried away and have fallen into the power 
of a merchant — I would die rather ! " The King, however, 
seized her hand, and said, " I am not a merchant. I am a 
king, and of no meaner origin than thou art, and if I have 
carried thee away with subtlety, that has come to pass be- 
cause of my exceeding great love for thee. The first time 
that I looked on thy portrait, I fell fainting to the ground." 
When the princess of the Golden Dwelling heard that, she 
was comforted, and her heart was inclined unto him, so 
that she willingly consented to be his wife. 

It happened, however, while they were sailing onwards over 
the deep sea, that Faithful John, who was sitting on the fore 
part of the vessel, making music, saw three ravens in the 
air, which came flying towards them. On this he stopped 
playing and listened to what they were saying to each other, 
for that he well understood. One cried, " Oh, there he is 
carrying home the princess of the Golden Dwelling." " Yes," 
replied the second, "but he has not got her yet." Said the 
third, "But he has got her, she is sitting beside him in 
the ship." Then the first began again, and cried, " What 
good will that do him? When they reach land a chestnut 
horse will leap forward to meet him, and the prince will want 
to mount it, but if he does that, it will run away with him, 
and rise up into the air with him, and he will never see his 
maiden more." Spake the second, " But is there no escape? " 

" Oh, yes, if any one else gets on it swiftly, and takes out 
the pistol which must be in its holster, and shoots the horse 
dead with it, the young King is saved. But who knows 
that? And whosoever does know it, and tells it to him, 
will be turned to stone from the toe to the knee." Then 



66 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

said the second, " I know more than that ; even if the horse 
be killed, the young King will still not keep his bride. When 
they go into the castle together, a wrought bridal garment 
will be lying there in a dish, and looking as if it were woven 
of gold and silver; it is, however, nothing but sulphur and 
pitch, and if he put it on, it will burn him to the very 
bone and marroWc" Said the third, " Is there no escape 
at all?" 

" Oh, yes," replied the second, " if any one with gloves 
on seizes the garment and throws it into the fire and burns 
it, the young King will be saved. But what avails that? 
Whosoever knows it and tells it to him, half his body will 
become stone from the knee to the heart." 

Then said the third, " I know still more ; even if the 
bridal garment be burnt, the young King will still not have 
his bride. After the wedding, when the dancing begins and 
the young Queen is dancing, she will suddenly turn pale 
and fall down as if dead, and if some one does not lift 
her up and draw three drops of blood from her right breast 
and spit them out again, she will die. But if any one who 
knows that were to declare it, he would become stone from 
the crown of his head to the sole of his foot." When the 
ravens had spoken of this together they flew onwards, and 
Faithful John had well understood everything, but from 
that time forth he became quiet and sad, for if he concealed 
what he had heard from his master, the latter would be 
unfortunate, and if he discovered it to him, he himself 
must sacrifice his life. At length, however, he said to him- 
self, " I will save my master, even if it bring destruction 
on myself." 

When therefore they came to shore, all happened as had 
been foretold by the ravens, and a magnificent chestnut horse 
sprang forward. *' Good," said the King, " he shall carry me 
to my palace," and was about to mount it when Faithful John 
got before him, jumped quickly on it, drew the pistol out 
of the holster, and shot the horse. Then the other at- 
tendants of the King, who after all were not very fond of 
Faithful John, cried, " How shameful to kill the beautiful 
animal, that was to have carried the King to his palace ! " 
But the King said, " Hold your peace and leave him alone, 



GRIMM'S TALES 67 

he is my most faithful John, who knows what may be the 
good of that ! " They went into the palace, and in the hall 
there stood a dish, and therein lay the bridal garment look- 
ing no otherwise than as if it were made of gold and silver. 
The young King went towards it and was about to take hold 
of it, but Faithful John pushed him away, seized it with 
gloves on, carried it quickly to the fire and burnt it. The 
other attendants again began to murmur, and said, " Be- 
hold, now he is even burning the King's bridal garment ! " 
But the young King said, "Who knows what good he may 
have done, leave him alone, he is my most faithful John." 

And now the wedding was solemnized: the dance began, 
and the bride also took part in it; then Faithful John was 
watchful and looked into her face, and suddenly she turned 
pale and fell to the ground as if she were dead. On this 
he ran hastily to her, lifted her up and bore her into a 
chamber — then he laid her down, and knelt and sucked the 
three drops of blood from her right breast, and spat them 
out. Immediately she breathed again and recovered her- 
self, but the young King had seen this, and being ignorant 
why Faithful John had done it, was angry and cried, " Throw 
him into a dungeon." Next morning Faithful John was 
condemned, and led to the gallows, and when he stood on 
high, and was about to be executed, he said, " Every one 
who has to die is permitted before his end to make one 
last speech ; may I too claim the right ? " " Yes," answered 
the King, " it shall be granted unto thee." Then said Faith- 
ful John, " I am unjustly condemned, and have always been 
true to thee," and related how he had hearkened to the 
conversation of the ravens when on the sea, and how he had 
been obliged to do all these things in order to save his master. 
Then cried the King, " Oh, my most faithful John. Pardon, 
pardon — bring him down." But as Faithful John spoke the 
last word he had fallen down lifeless and become a stone. 

Thereupon the King and the Queen suffered great anguish 
and the King said, "Ah, how ill I have requited great 
fidelity ! " and ordered the stone figure to be taken up and 
placed in his bedroom beside his bed. And as often as 
he looked on it he wept and said, "Ah, if I could bring thee 
to life again, my most faithful John." Some time passed 



68 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

and the Queen bore twins, two sons who grew fast and were 
her delight. Once when the Queen was at church and the 
two children were sitting playing beside their father, the 
latter full of grief again looked at the stone figure, sighed 
and said, "Ah, if I could but bring thee to life again, my 
most faithful John." Then the stone began to speak and 
said, " Thou canst bring me to life again if thou wilt use 
for that purpose what is dearest to thee." Then cried the 
King, " I will give everything I have in the world for thee." 
The stone continued, "If thou wilt cut off the heads of thy 
two children with thine own hand, and sprinkle me with 
their blood, I shall be restored to life." 

The King was terrified when he heard that he himself 
must kill his dearest children, but he thought of Faithful 
John's great fidelity, and how he had died for him, drew his 
sword, and with his own hand cut off the children's heads. 
And when he had smeared the stone with their blood, life 
returned to it, and Faithful John stood once more safe and 
healthy before him. He said to the King, " Thy truth shall 
not go unrewarded," and took the heads of the children, put 
them on again, and rubbed the wounds with their blood, 
on which they became whole again immediately, and jumped 
about, and went on playing as if nothing had happened. 
Then the King was full of joy, and when he saw the Queen 
coming he hid Faithful John and the two children in a great 
cupboard. When she entered, he said to her, "Hast thou 
been praying in the church ? " " Yes," answered she, " but 
I have constantly been thinking of Faithful John and what 
misfortune has befallen him through us." Then said he, 
" Dear wife, we can give him his life again, but it will cost 
us our two little sons, whom we must sacrifice." The Queen 
turned pale, and her heart was full of terror, but she said, 
" We owe it to him, for his great fidelity." Then the King 
was rejoiced that she thought as he had thought, and went 
and opened the cupboard, and brought forth Faithful John 
and the children, and said, " God be praised, he is delivered, 
and we have our little sons again also," and told her how 
everything had occurred. Then they dwelt together in much 
happiness until their death. 



GRIMM'S TALES 



THE PACK OF RAGAMUFFINS 

The cock once said to the hen, ** It is now the time when 
the nuts are ripe, so let us go to the hill together and for 
once eat our fill before the squirrel takes them all away." 
" Yes," replied the hen, " come, we will have some pleas- 
ure together." Then they went away to the hill, and as 
it was a bright day they stayed till evening. Now I do not 
know whether it was that they had eaten till they were too 
fat, or whether they had become proud, but they would 
not go home on foot, and the cock had to build a little car- 
riage of nut-shells. When it was ready, the little hen 
seated herself in it and said to the cock, " Thou canst just 
harness thyself to it." "I like that!" said the cock, "I 
would rather go home on foot than let myself be harnessed 
to it; no, that is not our bargain. I do not mind being 
coachman and sitting on the box, but drag it myself I 
will not." 

As they were thus disputing, a duck quacked to them, 
" You thieving folks, who bade you go to my nut-hill ? 
Wait, you shall suffer for it ! " and ran with open beak at 
the cock. But the cock also was not idle, and fell boldly 
on the duck, and at last wounded her so with his spurs 
that she begged for mercy, and willingly let herself be 
harnessed to the carriage as a punishment. The little cock 
now seated himself on the box and was coachman, and 
thereupon they went off in a gallop, with " Duck, go as 
fast as thou canst." When they had driven a part of the 
way they met two foot-passengers, a pin and a needle. 
They cried " Stop ! stop ! " and said that it would soon be 
as dark as pitch, and then they could not go a step further, 
and that it was so dirty on the road, and asked if they 
could not get into the carriage for a while. They had 
been at the tailor's public-house by the gate, and had 
stayed too long over the beer. As they were thin 
people, who did not take up much room, the cock let them 
both get in, but they had to promise him and his little hen 
not to step on their feet. Late in the evening they came 
to an inn, and as they did not like to go further by night, 
HO xvn — E 



70 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

and as the duck also was not strong on her feet, and fell 
from one side to the other, they went in. The host at 
first made many objections, his house was already full, 
besides he thought they could not be very distinguished 
persons; but at last, as they made pleasant speeches, and 
told him that he should have the egg which the little hen 
had laid on the way, and should likewise keep the duck, 
which laid one every day, he at length said that they might 
stay the night. And now they had themselves well served 
and feasted and rioted. Early in the morning, when day 
was breaking, and every one was asleep, the cock awoke 
the hen, brought the egg, pecked it open, and they ate it 
together, but they threw the shell on the hearth. Then 
they went to the needle which was still asleep, took it by 
the head and stuck it into the cushion of the landlord's 
chair, and put the pin in his towel, and at last without 
more ado they flew away over the heath. The duck who 
liked to sleep in the open air and had stayed in the yard, 
heard them going away, made herself merry and found a 
stream down which she swam, which was a much quicker 
way of travelling than being harnessed to a carriage. The 
host did not get out of bed for two hours after this; he 
washed himself and wanted to dry himself, then the pin 
went over his face and made a red streak from one ear to 
the other. After this he went into the kitchen and wanted 
to light a pipe, but when he came to the hearth the egg-shell 
darted into his eyes. " This morning everything attacks my 
head," said he, and angrily sat down on his grandfather's 
chair, but he quickly started up again and cried, " Woe is 
me," for the needle had pricked him still worse than the 
pin, and not in the head. Now he was thoroughly angry, and 
suspected the guests who had come so late the night before, 
and when he went and looked about for them, they were 
gone. Then he made a vow to take no more ragamuffins 
into his house, for they consume much, pay for nothing, 
and play mischievous tricks into the bargain by way of 
gratitude. 



GRIMM'S TALES 71 



RAPUNZEL* 

There was once a man and a woman who had long in 
vain wished for a child. At length the woman hoped that 
God was about to grant her desire. These people had a 
little window at the back of their house from which a 
splendid garden could be seen, which was full of the most 
beautiful flowers and herbs. It was, however, surrounded 
by a high wall, and no one dared to go into it because it 
belonged to an enchantress, who had great power and was 
dreaded by all the world. One day the woman was standing 
by this window and looking down into the garden, when 
she saw a bed which was planted with the most beautiful 
rampion (rapunzel), and it looked so fresh and green that 
she longed for it, and had the greatest desire to eat some. 
This desire increased every day, and as she knew that she 
could not get any of it, she quite pined away, and looked 
pale and miserable. Then her husband was alarmed, and 
asked, "What aileth thee, dear wife?" "Ah," she repHed, 
" if I can't get some of the rampion, which is in the garden 
behind our house, to eat, I shall die." The man, who loved 
her, thought, " Sooner than let thy wife die, bring her some 
of the rampion thyself let it cost thee what it will." In the 
twilight of evening, he clambered down over the wall into 
the garden of the enchantress, hastily clutched a handful 
of rampion, and took it to his wife. She at once made 
herself a salad of it, and ate it with much relish. She, 
however, liked it so much — so very much — that the next day 
she longed for it three times as much as before. If he 
was to have any rest, her husband must once more descend 
into the garden. In the gloom of evening, therefore, he 
let himself down again; but when he had clambered down 
the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the enchantress 
standing before him. " How canst thou dare," said she 
with angry look, " to descend into my garden and steal 
my rampion like a thief ? Thou shalt suffer for it ! " *' Ah," 

1 Rapunzel, Campanula rapunculus (rampion), a congener of the common 
harebell. It has a long white spindle-shaped root which is eaten raw like 
a radish, and has a pleasant sweet flavour. Its leaves and young shoots 
are also used in salads — and so are the roots, sliced. — Tk. 



72 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

answered he, "let mercy take the place of justice, I only- 
made up my mind to do it out of necessity. My wife saw 
your rampion from the window, and felt such a longing 
for it that she would have died if she had not got some to 
eat." Then the enchantress allowed her anger to be 
softened, and said to him, " If the case be as thou sayest, 
I will allow thee to take away with thee as much rampion 
as thou wilt, only I make one condition, thou must give 
me the child which thy wife will bring into the world; it 
shall be well treated, and I will care for it like a mother." 
The man in his terror consented to everything, and when 
the woman was brought to bed, the enchantress appeared 
at once, gave the child the name of Rapunzel, and took it 
away with her. 

Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child beneath 
the sun. When she was twelve years old, the enchantress 
shut her into a tower, which lay in a forest, and had neither 
stairs nor door, but quite at the top was a little window. 
When the enchantress wanted to go in, she placed herself 
beneath this and cried, 

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, 
Let down thy hair to me." 

Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and 
when she heard the voice of the enchantress she unfastened 
her braided tresses, wound them round one of the hooks of 
the window above, and then the hair fell twenty ells down, 
and the enchantress climbed up by it. 

After a year or two, it came to pass that the King's son 
rode through the forest and went by the tower. Then he 
heard a song, which was so charming that he stood still and 
listened. This was Rapunzel, who in her solitude passed 
her time in letting her sweet voice resound. The King's 
son wanted to climb up to her, and looked for the door of the 
tower, but none was to be found. He rode home, but the 
singing had so deeply touched his heart, that every day he 
went out into the forest and listened to it. Once when he 
was thus standing behind a tree, he saw that an enchantress 
came there, apd he heard how she cried. 



GRIMM'S TALES 73 

"RapuTizel, Rapunzel, 
Let down thy hair." 

Then Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the 
enchantress climbed up to her. " If that is the ladder by 
which one mounts, I will for once try my fortune," said 
he, and the next day when it began to grow dark, he went 
to the tower and cried, 

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, 
Let down thy hair." 

Immediately the hair fell down and the King's son climbed 
up. 

At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man 
such as her eyes had never yet beheld, came to her; but 
the King's son began to talk to her quite like a friend, and 
told her that his heart had been so stirred that it had let 
him have no rest, and he had been forced to see her. Then 
Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would 
take him for her husband, and she saw that he was young 
and handsome, she thought, " He will love me more than 
old Dame Gothel does ; " and she said yes, and laid her hand 
in his. She said, ** I will willingly go away with thee, but 
I do not know how to get down. Bring with thee a skein 
of silk every time that thou comest, and I will weave a 
ladder with it, and when that is ready I will descend, and 
thou wilt take me on thy horse." They agreed that until 
that time he should come to her every evening, for the 
old woman came by day. The enchantress remarked nothing 
of this, until once Rapunzel said to her, " Tell me. Dame 
Gothel, how it happens that you are so much heavier for 
me to draw up than the young King's son — he is with me 
in a moment." " Ah ! thou wicked child," cried the en- 
chantress, " What do I hear thee say ! I thought I had 
separated thee from all the world, and yet thou hast de- 
ceived me ! " In her anger she clutched Rapunzel's beautiful 
tresses, wrapped them twice round her left hand, seized a 
pair of scissors with the right, and snip, snap, they were 
cut off, and the lovely braids lay on the ground. And she 
was so pitiless that she took poor Rapunzel into a desert 
where she had to live in great grief and misery. 



74 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

On tlie same day, however, that she cast out Rapunzel, 
the enchantress in the evening fastened the braids of hair 
which she had cut off to the hook of the window, and when 
the King's son came and cried, 

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, 
Let down thy hair," 

she let the hair down. The King's son ascended, but he 
did not find his dearest Rapunzel above, but the enchantress, 
who gazed at him with wicked and venomous looks. "Aha ! '* 
she cried mockingly, *' Thou wouldst fetch thy dearest, but 
the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest; the cat 
has got it, and will scratch out thy eyes as well. Rapunzel 
is lost to thee; thou wilt never see her more." The King's 
son was beside himself with pain, and in his despair he leapt 
down from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the 
thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes. Then he wan- 
dered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and 
berries, and did nothing but lament and weep over the loss 
of his dearest wife. Thus he roamed about in misery for 
some years, and at length came to the desert where Ra- 
punzel, with the twins to which she had given birth, a boy 
and a girl, lived in wretchedness. He heard a voice, and 
it seemed so familiar to him that he went towards it, and 
when he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell on his 
neck and wept. Two of her tears wetted his eyes and they 
grew clear again, and he could see with them as before. He 
led to her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, 
and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and 
contented. 



THE THREE LITTLE MEN IN THE WOOD 

There was once a man whose wife died, and a woman 
whose husband died, and the man had a daughter, and the 
woman also had a daughter. The girls were acquainted with 
each other, and went out walking together, and afterwards 
came to the woman in her house. Then said she to the 
man's daughter, "Listen, tell thy father that I would like 



GRIMM'S TALES 75 

to marry him, and then thou shalt wash thyself in milk 
every morning, and drink wine, but my own daughter shall 
wash herself in water and drink water." The girl went 
home, and told her father what the woman had said. The 
man said, *' What shall I do? Marriage is a joy and also 
a torment." At length as he could come to no decision, he 
pulled off his boot, and said, " Take this boot, it has a hole 
in the sole of it. Go with it up to the loft, hang it on the 
big nail, and then pour water into it. If it hold the water, 
then I will again take a wife, but if it run through, I will 
not." The girl did as she was ordered, but the water drew 
the hole together and the boot became full to the top. She 
informed her father how it had turned out. Then he him- 
self went up, and when he saw that she was right, he went 
to the window and wooed her, and the wedding was 
celebrated. 

The next morning, when the two girls got up, there stood 
before the man's daughter milk for her to wash in and 
wine for her to drink, but before the woman's daughter 
stood water to wash herself with and water for drinking. 
On the second morning, stood water for washing and water 
for drinking before the man's daughter as well as before 
the woman's daughter. And on the third morning stood 
water for washing and water for drinking before the man's 
daughter, and milk for washing and wine for drinking, be- 
fore the woman's daughter, and so it continued. The woman 
became bitterly unkind to her step-daughter, and day by day 
did her best to treat her still worse. She was envious too 
because her step-daughter was beautiful and lovable, and 
her own daughter ugly and repulsive. 

Once, in winter, when everything was frozen as hard as 
a stone, and hill and vale lay covered with snow, the woman 
made a frock of paper, called her step-daughter, and said, 
" Here, put on this dress and go out into the wood, and 
fetch me a little basketful of strawberries, — I have a fancy 
for some." " Good heavens ! " said the girl, *' no straw- 
berries grow in winter ! The ground is frozen, and besides 
the snow has covered everything. And why am I to go in 
this paper frock ? It is so cold outside that one's very breath 
freezes! The wind will blow through the frock, and the 



76 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

thorns will tear it off my body." " Wilt thou contradict me 
again ? " said the step-mother. " See that thou goest, and do 
not show thy face again until thou hast the basketful of 
strawberries ! " Then she gave her a little piece of hard 
bread, and said, " This will last thee the day," and thought, 
"Thou wilt die of cold and hunger outside, and wilt never 
be seen again by me." 

Then the maiden was obedient, and put on the paper frock, 
and went out with the basket. Far and wide there was 
nothing but snow, and not a green blade to be seen. When 
she got into the wood she saw a small house out of which 
peeped three little dwarfs.^ She wished them good day, and 
knocked modestly at the door. They cried, " Come in," and 
she entered the room and seated herself on the bench by 
the stove, where she began to warm herself and eat her 
breakfast. The elves said, " Give us, too, some of it." 
" Willingly," said she, and divided her bit of bread in two, 
and gave them the half. They asked, " What dost thou here 
in the forest in the winter time, in thy thin dress ? " " Ah," 
she answered, " I am to look for a basketful of strawberries, 
and am not to go home until I can take them with me." 
When she had eaten her bread, they gave her a broom and 
said, " Sweep away the snow at the back door with it." But 
when she was outside, the three little men said to each 
other, " What shall we give her as she is so good, and 
has shared her bread with us ? " Then said the first, 
" My gift is, that she shall every day grow more 
beautiful." The second said, " My gift is, that gold pieces 
shall fall out of her mouth every time she speaks." The 
third said, " My gift is that a king shall come and take her 
to wife." 

The girl, however, did as the little men had bidden her, 
swept away the snow behind the little house with the 
broom, and what did she find but real ripe strawberries, 
which came up quite dark-red out of the snow! In her 
joy she hastily gathered her basket full, thanked the little 
men, shook hands with each of them, and ran home to take 
her step-mother what she had longed for so much. When 

1 In the original Haulemannerchen — i. e., Hohlen-Waldmannlein. They 
are so called because they live in caves in the forests. They are little 
dwarfs with large heads, and are supposed to steal unbaptized children. — Tr. 



GRIMM'S TALES 77 

she went in and said good-evening, a piece of gold at once 
fell out of her mouth. Thereupon she related what had 
happened to her in the wood, but with every word she spoke, 
gold pieces fell from her mouth, until very soon the whole 
room was covered with them. " Now look at her arro- 
gance," cried the step-sister, " to throw about gold in that 
way ! " but she was secretly envious of it, and wanted to 
go into the forest also to seek strawberries. The mother 
said, " No, my dear little daughter, it is too cold, thou 
mightest die of cold." However, as her daughter let her 
have no peace, the mother at last yielded, made her a mag- 
nificent dress of fur, which she was obliged to put on, and 
gave her bread-and-butter and cake with her. 

The girl went into the forest and straight up to the little 
house. The three little elves peeped out again, but she did 
not greet them, and without looking round at them and 
without speaking to them, she went awkwardly into the 
room, seated herself by the stove, and began to eat her 
bread-and-butter and cake. " Give us some of it," cried the 
little men ; but she replied, " There is not enough for myself, 
so how can I give it away to other people ? " When she 
had done eating, they said, *' There is a broom for thee, 
sweep all clean for us outside by the back-door." " Humph ! 
Sweep for yourselves," she answered, " I am not your 
servant." When she saw that they were not going to 
give her anything she went out by the door. Then the little 
men said to each other, "What shall we give her as she 
is so naughty, and has a wicked envious heart, that will 
never let her do a good turn to any one ? " The first said, 
" I grant that she may grow uglier every day." The second 
said, " I grant that at every word she says, a toad shall 
spring out of her mouth." The third said, " I grant that she 
may die a miserable death." The maiden looked for straw- 
berries outside, but as she found none, she went angrily 
home. And when she opened her mouth, and was about to 
tell her mother what had happened to her in the wood, with 
every word she said, a toad sprang out of her mouth, so that 
every one was seized with horror of her. 

Then the step-mother was still more enraged, and thought 
of nothing but how to do every possible injury to the man's 



78 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

daughter, whose beauty, however, grew daily greater. At 
length she took a cauldron, set it on the fire, and boiled 
yarn in it. When it was boiled, she flung it on the poor 
girl's shoulder, and gave her an axe in order that she might 
go on the frozen river, cut a hole in the ice, and rinse the 
yarn. She was obedient, went thither and cut a hole in 
the ice; and while she was in the midst of her cutting, a 
splendid carriage came driving up, in which sat the King. 
The carriage stopped, and the King asked, " My child, 
who art thou, and what art thou doing here ? " "I am a 
poor girl, and I am rinsing yarn." Then the King felt 
compassion, and when he saw that she was so very beautiful, 
he said to her, " Wilt thou go away with me ? " " Ah, yes, 
with all my heart," she answered, for she was glad to get 
away from the mother and sister. 

So she got into the carriage and drove away with the 
King, and when they arrived at his palace, the wedding was 
celebrated with great pomp, as the little men had granted 
to the maiden. When a year was over, the young Queen 
bore a son, and as the step-mother had heard of her great 
good-fortune, she came with her daughter to the palace 
and pretended that she wanted to pay her a visit. Once, 
however, when the King had gone out, and no one else 
was present, the wicked woman seized the Queen by the 
head, and her daughter seized her by the feet, and they 
lifted her out of the bed, and threw her out of the window 
into the stream which flowed by. Then the ugly daughter 
laid herself in the bed, and the old woman covered her up 
over her head. When the King came home again and 
wanted to speak to his wife, the old woman cried, *' Hush, 
hush, that can't be now, she is lying in a violent perspira- 
tion; you must let her rest to-day." The King suspected 
no evil, and did not come back again till next morning; 
and as he talked with his wife and she answered him, 
with every word a toad leaped out, whereas formerly a piece 
of gold had fallen out. Then he asked what that cduld be, 
but the old woman said that she had got that from the 
violent perspiration, and would soon lose it again. During 
the night, however, the scullion saw a duck come swimming 
up the gutter, and it said. 



GRIMM'S TALES 79 

"King, what art thou doing now? 
Sleepest thou, or wakest thou ?" 

And as he returned no answer it said, 

"And my guests, What may they do ?" 

The scullion said, 

"They are sleeping soundly, too." 

Then it asked again, 

"What does little baby mine?" 

He answered, 

"Sleepeth in her cradle fine." 

Then she went upstairs in the form of the Queen, nursed 
the baby, shook up its little bed, covered it over, and then 
swam away again down the gutter in the shape of a duck. She 
came thus for two nights; on the third, she said to the 
scullion, " Go and tell the King to take his sword and swing 
it three times over me on the threshold." Then the scullion 
ran and told this to the King, who came with his sword and 
swung it thrice over the spirit, and at the third time, his 
wife stood before him strong, living, and healthy as she had 
been before. Thereupon the King was full of great joy, 
but he kept the Queen hidden in a chamber until the Sunday 
when the baby was to be christened. And when it was 
christened he said, " What does a person deserve who drags 
another out of bed and throws him in the water ? " " The 
wretch deserves nothing better," answered the old woman, 
" than to be taken and put in a barrel stuck full of nails, 
and rolled down hill into the water." " Then," said the 
King, " thou hast pronounced thine own sentence ; " and he 
ordered such a barrel to be brought, and the old woman to 
be put into it with her daughter, and then the top was 
hammered on, and the barrel rolled down hill until it went 
into the river. 



80 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 



THE THREE SPINNERS 

There was once a girl who was idle and would not spin, 
and let her mother say what she would, she could not bring 
her to it. At last the mother was once so overcome with 
anger and impatience, that she beat her, on which the 
girl began to weep loudly. Now at this very moment the 
Queen drove by, and when she heard the weeping she 
stopped her carriage, went into the house and asked the 
mother why she was beating her daughter so that the cries 
could be heard out on the road? Then the woman was 
ashamed to reveal the laziness of her daughter and said, " I 
cannot get her to leave off spinning. She insists on 
spinning for ever and ever, and I am poor, and cannot pro- 
cure the flax." Then answered the Queen, " There is noth- 
ing that I like better to hear than spinning, and I am never 
happier than when the wheels are humming. Let me have 
your daughter with me in the palace, I have flax enough, 
and there she shall spin as much as she likes." The mother 
was heartily satisfied with this, and the Queen took the 
girl with her. When they had arrived at the palace, she 
led her up into three rooms which were filled from the bot- 
tom to the top with the finest flax. " Now spin me this flax," 
said she, " and when thou hast done it, thou shalt have my 
eldest son for a husband, even if thou art poor. I care not 
for that, thy indefatigable industry is dowry enough." The 
girl was secretly terrified, for she could not > have spun the 
flax, no, not if she had lived till she was three hundred 
years old, and had sat at it every day from morning till 
night. When therefore she was alone, she began to weep, 
and sat thus for three days without moving a finger. On 
the third day came the Queen, and when she saw that 
nothing had been spun yet, she was surprised; but the girl 
excused herself by saying that she had not been able to 
begin because of her great distress at leaving her mother's 
house. The Queen was satisfied with this, but said when 
she was going away, " To-morrow thou must begin to 
work." 

When the girl was alone again, she did not know what 



GRIMM'S TALES 81 

to do, and in her distress went to the window. Then she 
saw three women coming towards her, the first of whom 
had a broad flat foot, the second had such a great under- 
lip that it hung down over her chin, and the third had a 
broad thumb. They remained standing before the window, 
looked up, and asked the girl what was amiss with her ? She 
complained of her trouble, and then they offered her their 
help and said, "If thou wilt invite us to the wedding, not 
be ashamed of us, and wilt call us thine aunts, and likewise 
wilt place us at thy table, we will spin up the flax for thee, 
and that in a very short time." " With all my heart," she 
replied, " do but come in and begin the work at once." Then 
she let in the three strange women, and cleared a place in 
the first room, where they seated themselves and began their 
spinning. The one drew the thread and trod the wheel, 
the other wetted the thread, the third twisted it, and struck 
the table with her finger, and as often as she struck it, a 
skein of thread fell to the ground that was spun in the finest 
manner possible. The girl concealed the three spinners 
from the Queen, and showed her whenever she came the 
great quantity of spun thread, until the latter could not 
praise her enough. When the first room was empty she 
went to the second, and at last to the third, and that too 
was quickly cleared. Then the three women took leave and 
said to the girl, "Do not forget what thou hast promised us, 
— it will make thy fortune." 

When the maiden showed the Queen the empty rooms, 
and the great heap of yarn, she gave orders for the wed- 
ding, and the bridegroom^ rejoiced that he was to have such 
a clever and industrious wife, and praised her mightily. 
" I have three aunts," said the girl, " and as they have been 
very kind to me, I should not like to forget them in my 
good fortune; allow me to invite them to the wedding, and 
let them sit with us at table." The Queen and the bride- 
groom said, " Why should we not allow that ? " Therefore 
when the feast began, the three women entered in strange 
apparel, and the bride said, " Welcome, dear aunts." "Ah," 
said the bridegroom, " how comest thou by these odious 

1 Braiitigam, betrothed. The old English brydguma had the same signi- 
fication, and was only applied to a betrothed man, just as bryd, bride, was 
only applied to a betrothed woman. — Tr. 



82 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

friends ? " Thereupon he went to the one with the broad 
flat foot and said, " How do you come by such a broad 
foot ? " " By treading," she answered, " by treading." Then 
the bridegroom went to the second, and said, " How do you 
come by your f alHng Hp ? " " By licking," she answered, " by 
licking." Then he asked the third, " How do you come by 
your broad thumb?" "By twisting the thread," she an- 
swered, " by twisting the thread." On this the King's son 
was alarmed and said, " Neither now nor ever shall my beau- 
tiful bride touch a spinning-wheel." And thus she got rid 
of the hateful flax-spinning. 



HANSEL AND GRETHEL 

Hard by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his 
wife and his two children. The boy was called Hansel and 
the girl Grethel. He had little to bite and to break, and once 
when great scarcity fell on the land, he could no longer pro- 
cure daily bread. Now when he thought over this by night 
in his bed, and tossed about in his anxiety, he groaned and 
said to his v/if e, " What is to become of us ? How are we 
to feed our poor children, when we no longer have anything 
even for ourselves ?" "I'll tell you what, husband," answered 
the woman, " early to-morrow morning we will take the 
children out into the forest to where it is the thickest, there 
we will light a fire for them, and give each of them one piece 
of bread more, and then we will go to our work and leave 
them alone. They will not find the way home again, and we 
shall be rid of them." " No, wife," said the man, " I will 
not do that ; how can I bear to leave my children alone in the 
forest? — the wild animals would soon come and tear them 
to pieces." " O, thou fool ! " said she, " then we must all 
four die of hunger, thou mayest as well plane the planks for 
our coffins," and she left him no peace until he consented. 
" But I feel very sorry for the poor children, all the same," 
said the man. 

The two children had also not been able to sleep for 
hunger, and had heard what their step-mother had said to 
their father. Grethel wept bitter tears, and said to Hansel, 



GRIMM'S TALES 83 

" Now all is over with us." " Be quiet, Grethel," said Hansel, 
" do not distress thyself, I will soon find a way to help us." 
And when the old folks had fallen asleep, he got up, put on 
his little coat, opened the door below, and crept outside. The 
moon shone brightly, and the white pebbles which lay in 
front of the house gHttered like real silver pennies. Hansel 
stooped and put as many of them in the little pocket of his 
coat as he could possibly get in. Then he went back and said 
to Grethel, " Be comforted, dear little sister, and sleep in 
peace, God will not forsake us," and he lay down again in 
his bed. When day dawned, but before the sun had risen, 
the woman came and awoke the two children, saying, " Get 
up, you sluggards ! we are going into the forest to fetch 
wood." She gave each a little piece of bread, and said, 
" There is something for your dinner, but do not eat it up 
before then, for you will get nothing else." Grethel took 
the bread under her apron, as Hansel had the stones in his 
pocket. Then they all set out together on the way to the 
forest. When they had walked a short time. Hansel stood 
still and peeped back at the house, and did so again and again. 
His father said, "Hansel, what art thou looking at there and 
staying behind for? Mind what thou art about, and do not 
forget how to use thy legs." " Ah, father," said Hansel, " I 
am looking at my little white cat, which is sitting up on the 
roof, and wants to say good-bye to me." The wife said, 
" Fool, that is not thy little cat, that is the morning sun 
which is shining on the chimneys." Hansel, however, had 
not been looking back at the cat, but had been constantly 
throwing one of the white pebble-stones out of his pocket 
on the road. 

When they had reached the middle of the forest, the father 
said, " Now, children, pile up some wood, and I will light a 
fire that you may not be cold." Hansel and Grethel gathered 
brushwood together, as high as a little hill. The brushwood 
was lighted, and when the flames were burning very high the 
woman said, " Now, children, lay yourselves down by the fire 
and rest, we will go into the forest and cut some wood. 
When we have done, we will come back and fetch you away." 

Hansel and Grethel sat by the fire, and when noon came, 
each ate a little piece of bread, and as they heard the strokes 



84 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

of the wood-axe they believed that their father was near. 
It was, however, not the axe, it was a branch which he had 
fastened to a withered tree which the wind was blowing 
backwards and forwards. And as they had been sitting such 
a long time, their eyes shut with fatigue, and they fell fast 
asleep. When at last they awoke, it was already dark night. 
Grethel began to cry and said, " How are we to get out of 
the forest now ? " But Hansel comforted her and said, " Just 
wait a little, until the moon has risen, and then we will soon 
find the way." And when the full moon had risen, Hansel 
took his little sister by the hand, and followed the pebbles 
which shone like newly-coined silver pieces, and showed 
them the way. 

They walked the whole night long, and by break of day 
came once more to their father's house. They knocked at 
the door, and when the woman opened it and saw that it was 
Hansel and Grethel, she said, " You naughty children, why 
have you slept so long in the forest? — we thought you were 
never coming back at all ! " The father, however, rejoiced, 
for it had cut him to the heart to leave them behind alone. 

Not long afterwards, there was once more great scarcity 
in all parts, and the children heard their mother saying at 
night to their father, " Everything is eaten again, we have 
one half loaf left, and after that there is an end. The chil- 
dren must go, we will take them farther into the wood, so 
that they will not find their way out again ; there is no other 
means of saving ourselves ! " The man's heart was heavy, 
and he thought " it would be better for thee to share the last 
mouthful with thy children." The woman, however, would 
listen to nothing that he had to say, but scolded and re- 
proached him. He who says A must say B, likewise, and as 
he had yielded the first time, he had to do so a second time 
also. 

The children were, however, still awake and had heard the 
conversation. When the old folks were asleep, Hansel again 
got up, and wanted to go out and pick up pebbles, but the 
woman had locked the door, and Hansel could not get out. 
Nevertheless he comforted his little sister, and said, " Do not 
cry, Grethel, go to sleep quietly, the good God will help us." 

Early in the morning came the woman, and took the chil- 



GRIMM'S TALES 85 

dren out of their beds. Their bit of bread was given to them, 
but it was still smaller than the time before. On the way 
into the forest Hansel crumbled his in his pocket, and often 
stood still and threw a morsel on the ground. "Hansel, why 
dost thou stop and look around?" said the father, "go on." 
" I am looking back at my little pigeon which is sitting on 
the roof, and wants to say good-bye to me," answered Hansel. 
" Simpleton ! " said the woman, " that is not thy little pigeon, 
that is the morning sun that is shining on the chimney." 
Hansel, however, little by little, threw all the crumbs on the 
path. 

The woman led the children still deeper into the forest, 
where they had never in their lives been before. Then a 
great fire was again made, and the mother said, " Just sit 
there, you children, and when you are tired you may sleep a 
little; we are going into the forest to cut wood, and in the 
evening when we are done^ we will come and fetch you 
away." When it was noon, Grethel shared her piece of bread 
with Hansel, who had scattered his by the way. Then they 
fell asleep and evening came and went, but no one came to 
the poor children. They did not awake until it was dark 
night, and Hansel comforted his little sister and said, " Just 
wait, Grethel, until the moon rises, and then we shall see the 
crumbs of bread which I have strewn about, they will show 
us our way home again." When the moon came they set out, 
but they found no crumbs, for the many thousands of birds 
which fly about in the woods and fields had picked them all 
up. Hansel said to Grethel, "We shall soon find the way," 
but they did not find it. They walked the whole night and all 
the next day too from morning till evening, but they did not 
get out of the forest, and were very hungry, for they had 
nothing to eat but two or three berries, which grew on the 
ground. And as they were so weary that their legs would 
carry them no longer, they lay down beneath a tree and fell 
asleep. 

It was now three mornings since they had left their father's 
house. They began to walk again, but they always got deeper 
into the forest, and if help did not come soon, they must die 
of hunger and weariness. When it was mid-day, they saw a 
beautiful snow-white bird sitting on a bough, which sang so 

HO XVII— P 



86 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

delightfully that they stood still and listened to it. And when 
it had finished its song, it spread its wings and flew away 
before them, and they followed it until they reached a little 
house, on the roof of which it alighted ; and when they came 
quite up to the little house they saw that it was built of bread 
and covered with cakes, but that the windows were of clear 
sugar. " We will set to work on that," said Hansel, " and 
have a good meal. I will eat a bit of the roof, and thou, 
Grethel, canst eat some of the window, it will taste sweet." 
Hansel reached up above, and broke off a little of the roof 
to try how it tasted, and Grethel leant against the window 
and nibbled at the panes. Then a soft voice cried from the 
room, 

"Nibble, nibble, gnaw. 
Who is nibbling at my little house?" 

The children answered, 

"The wind, the wind, 
The heaven-born wind," 

and went on eating without disturbing themselves. Hansel, 
who thought the roof tasted very nice, tore down a great 
piece of it, and Grethel pushed out the whole of one round 
window-pane, sat down, and enjoyed herself with it. Sud- 
denly the door opened, and a very, very old woman, who 
supported herself on crutches, came creeping out. Hansel 
and Grethel were so terribly frightened that they let fall 
what they had in their hands. The old woman, however, 
nodded her head, and said, " Oh, you dear children, who has 
brought you here ? Do come in, and stay with me. No harm 
shall happen to you." She took them both by the hand, and 
led them into her little house. Then good food was set be- 
fore them, milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts. 
Afterwards two pretty little beds were covered with clean 
white linen, and Hansel and Grethel lay down in them, and 
thought they were in heaven. 

The old woman had only pretended to be so kind ; she was 
in reality a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and 
had only built the little bread house in order to entice them 
there. When a child fell into her power, she killed it, cooked 
and ate it, and that was a feast day with her. Witches have 



GRIMM'S TALES 87 

red eyes, and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like 
the beasts, and are aware when human beings draw near. 
When Hansel and Grethel came into her neighbourhood, she 
laughed maliciously, and said mockingly, " I have them, they 
shall not escape me again ! " Early in the morning before 
the children were awake, she was already up, and when she 
saw both of them sleeping and looking so pretty, with their 
plump red cheeks, she muttered to herself, "That will be a 
dainty mouthful ! " Then she seized Hansel with her shrivel- 
led hand, carried him into a little stable, and shut him in with 
a grated door. He might scream as he liked, that was of no 
use. Then she went to Grethel, shook her till she awoke, and 
cried, " Get up, lazy thing, fetch some water, and cook some- 
thing good for thy brother, he is in the stable outside, and is 
to be made fat. When he is fat, I will eat him." Grethel 
began to weep bitterly, but it was all in vain, she was forced 
to do what the wicked witch ordered her. 

And now the best food was cooked for poor Hansel, but 
Grethel got nothing but crab-shells. Every morning the 
woman crept to the little stable, and cried, " Hansel, stretch 
out thy finger that I may feel if thou wilt soon be fat." 
Hansel, however, stretched out a little bone to her, and the 
old woman, who had dim eyes, could not see it, and thought 
it was Hansel's finger, and was astonished that there was no 
way of fattening him. When four weeks had gone by, and 
Hansel still continued thin, she was seized with impatience 
and would not wait any longer, " Hola, Grethel," she cried to 
the girl, " be active, and bring some water. Let Hansel be 
fat or lean, to-morrow I will kill him, and cook him." Ah, 
how the poor little sister did lament when she had to fetch 
the water, and how her tears did flow down over her cheeks ! 
" Dear God, do help us," she cried. " If the wild beasts in 
the forest had but devoured us, we should at any rate have 
died together." " Just keep thy noise to thyself," said the old 
woman, " all that won't help thee at all." 

Early in the morning, Grethel had to go out and hang up 
the cauldron with the water, and light the fire. " We will 
bake first," said the old woman, "I have already heated the 
oven, and kneaded the dough." She pushed poor Grethel out 
to the oven, from which flames of fire were already darting. 



88 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

" Creep in," said the witch, " and see if it is properly heated, 
so that we can shut the bread in." And when once Grethel 
was inside, she intended to shut the oven and let her bake in 
it, and then she would eat her, too. But Grethel saw what 
she had in her mind, and said, " I do not know how I am to 
do it ; how do you get in ? " " Silly goose," said the old 
woman. " The door is big enough ; just look, I can get in 
myself ! " and she crept up and thrust her head into the oven. 
Then Grethel gave her a push that drove her far into it, and 
shut the iron door, and fastened the bolt. Oh ! then she 
began to howl quite horribly, but Grethel ran away, and the 
godless witch was miserably burnt to death. 

Grethel, however, ran as quick as lightning to Hansel, 
opened his little stable, and cried, " Hansel, we are saved ! 
The old witch is dead ! " Then Hansel sprang out like a bird 
from its cage when the door is opened for it. How they did 
rejoice and embrace each other, and dance about and kiss 
each other ! And as they had no longer any need to fear her, 
they went into the witch's house, and in every corner there 
stood chests full of pearls and jewels. "These are far better 
than pebbles !" said Hansel, and thrust into his pockets what- 
ever could be got in, and Grethel said, *T, too, will take 
something home with me," and filled her pinafore full. " But 
now we will go away," said Hansel, " that we may get out 
of the witch's forest." , 

When they had walked for two hours, they came to a great 
piece of water. " We cannot get over," said Hansel, " I see 
no foot-plank, and no bridge." " And no boat crosses either," 
answered Grethel, " but a white duck is swimming there ; if 
I ask her, she will help us over." Then she cried, 

"Little duck, little duck, dost thou see, 
Hansel and Grethel are waiting for thee? 
There's never a plank, or bridge in sight, 
Take us across on thy back so white." 

The duck came to them, and Hansel seated himself on its 
back, and told his sister to sit by him. " No," replied Grethel, 
" that will be too heavy for the little duck ; she shall take us 
across, one after the other." The good little duck did so, and 
when they were once safely across and had walked for a 



GRIMM'S TALES 89 

short time, the forest seemed to be more and more famiHar 
to them, and at length they saw from afar their father's 
house. Then they began to run, rushed into the parlour, and 
threw themselves into their father's arms. The man had not 
known one happy hour since he had left the children in the 
forest ; the woman, however, was dead. Grethel emptied her 
pinafore until pearls and precious stones ran about the room, 
and Hansel threw one handful after another out of his pocket 
to add to them. Then all anxiety was at an end, and they 
lived together in perfect happiness. My tale is done, there 
runs a mouse, whosoever catches it, may make himself a big 
fur cap out of it. 



THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE^ 

There was once on a time a Fisherman who lived with his 
wife in a miserable hovel close by the sea, and every day he 
went out fishing. And once as he was sitting with his rod, 
looking at the clear water, his line suddenly went down, far 
down below, and when he drew it up again, he brought out a 
large Flounder. Then the Flounder said to him, " Hark, you 
Fisherman, I pray you, let me live, I am no Flounder really, 
but an enchanted prince. What good will it do you to kill 
me ? I should not be good to eat, put me in the water again, 
and let me go." " Come," said the Fisherman, " there is no 
need for so many words about it — a fish that can talk I should 
certainly let go, anyhow," with that he put him back again 
into the clear water, and the Flounder went to the bottom, 
leaving a long streak of blood behind him. Then the Fisher- 
man got up and went home to his wife in the hovel. 

"Husband," said the woman, "have you caught nothing to- 
day ? " " No/' said the man, " I did catch a Flounder, who 
said he was an enchanted prince, so I let him go again." 
"Did you not wish for anything first?" said the woman. 
"No," said the man; "what should I wish for?" "Ah," 
said the woman, "it is surely hard to have to live always in 
this dirty hovel ; you might have wished for a small cottage 

* According to the late William Howitt, this story was communicated to 
the Brothers Grimm by Mr. Henry Crabbe Robinson, who had it from an 
old woman. See " Diary of H. C. Robinson." — Tr. 



90 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

for us. Go back and call him. Tell him we want to have a 
small cottage, he will certainly give us that." " Ah," said the 
man, " why should I go there again ? " " Why," said the 
woman, " you did catch him, and you let him go again ; he is 
sure to do it. Go at once." The man still did not quite like 
to go, but did not like to oppose his wife, and went to the sea. 
When he got there the sea was all green and yellow, and 
no longer so smooth ; so he stood and said, 

"Flounder, flounder in the sea. 
Come, I pray thee, here to me ; 
For my wife, good Ilsabil,^ 
Wills not as I'd have her will." 

Then the Flounder came swimming to him and said, "Well, 
what does she want, then ? " " Ah," said the man, " I did 
catch you, and my wife says I really ought to have wished 
for something. She does not like to live in a wretched hovel 
any longer ; she would like to have a cottage." " Go, then," 
said the Flounder, " she has it already." 

When the man went home, his wife was no longer in the 
hovel, but instead of it there stood a small cottage, and she 
was sitting on a bench before the door. Then she took him 
by the hand and said to him, "Just come inside, look, now 
isn't this a great deal better ? " So they went in, and there 
was a small porch, and a pretty little parlour and bed-room, 
and a kitchen and pantry, with the best of furniture, and 
fitted up with the most beautiful things made of tin and brass, 
whatsoever was wanted. And behind the cottage there was a 
small yard, with hens and ducks, and a little garden with 
flowers and fruit. " Look," said the wife, " is not that nice ! " 
" Yes," said the husband, " and so we must always think it, — 
now we will live quite contented." " We will think about 
that," said the wife. With that they ate something and went 
to bed. 

Everything went well for a week or a fortnight, and then 
the woman said, " Hark you, husband, this cottage is far too 
small for us, and the garden and yard are little ; the Flounder 
might just as well have given us a larger house. I should 
like to live in a great stone castle; go to the Flounder, and 
« Isabel.— Tr. 



GRIMM'S TALES 91 

tell him to give us a castle." " Ah, wife," said the man, " the 
cottage is quite good enough; why should we live in a 
castle?" "What!" said the woman; "just go there, the 
Flounder can always do that." "No, wife," said the man, 
" the Flounder has just given us the cottage, I do not like 
to go back so soon, it might make him angry." "Go," said 
the woman, " he can do it quite easily, and will be glad to do 
it ; just you go to him." 

The man's heart grew heavy, and he would not go. He 
said to himself, " It is not right,"and yet he went. And 
when he came to the sea the water was quite purple and dark- 
blue, and grey and thick, and no longer so green and yellow, 
but it was still quiet. And he stood there and said — 

"Flounder, flounder in the sea. 
Come, I pray thee, here to me ; 
For my wife, good Ilsabil, 
Wills not as I'd have her will." 

" Well, what does she want, then ? " said the Flounder. 
" Alas," said the man, half scared, " she wants to live in a 
great stone castle." " Go to it, then, she is standing before 
the door/' said the Flounder. 

Then the man went away, intending to go home, but when 
he got there, he found a great stone palace, and his wife was 
just standing on the steps going in, and she took him by the 
hand and said, " Come in." So he went in with her, and in 
the castle was a great hall paved with marble, and many ser- 
vants, who flung wide the doors; and the walls were all 
bright with beautiful hangings, and in the rooms were chairs 
and tables of pure gold, and crystal chandeliers hung from 
the ceilings, and all the rooms and bed-rooms had carpets, 
and food and wine of the very best were standing on all the 
tables so that they nearly broke down beneath it. Behind the 
house, too, there was a great court-yard, with stables for 
horses and cows, and the very best of carriages ; there was a 
magnificent large garden, too, with the most beautiful flowers 
and fruit-trees, and a park quite half a mile long, in which 
were stags, deer, and hares, and everything that could be de- 
sired. "Come," said the woman, "isn't that beautiful?" 
" Yes, indeed," said the man, " now let it be ; and we will live 



92 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

in this beautiful castle and be content." "We will consider 
about that," said the woman, "and sleep upon it"; there- 
upon they went to bed. 

Next morning the wife awoke first, and it was just day- 
break, and from her bed she saw the beautiful country lying 
before her. Her husband was still stretching himself, so she 
poked him in the side with her elbow, and said, " Get up, 
husband, and just peep out of the window. Look you, 
couldn't we be the King over all that land ? Go to the Floun- 
der, we will be the King." " Ah, wife," said the man, " why 
should we be King ? I do not want to be King." " Well," 
said the wife, "if you won't be King, I will; go to the 
Flounder, for I will be King." "Ah, wife," said the man, 
" why do you want to be King ? I do not like to say that to 
him." "Why not?" said the woman; "go to him this in- 
stant ; I must be King ! " So the man went, and was quite un- 
happy because his wife wished to be King. " It is not right; 
it is not right," thought he. He did not wish to go, but yet 
he went. 

And when he came to the sea, it was quite dark-grey, and 
the water heaved up from below, and smelt putrid. Then he 
went and stood by it, and said, 

"Flounder, flounder in the sea, 
Come, I pray thee, here to me; 
For my wife, good Ilsabil, 
Wills not as I'd have her will." 

"Well, what does she want, then?" said the Flounder. 
"Alas ! " said the man, " she wants to be King." " Go to her ; 
she is King already." 

So the man went, and when he came to the place, the castle 
had become much larger, and had a great tower and mag- 
nificent ornaments, and the sentinel was standing before the 
door, and there were numbers of soldiers with kettle-drums 
and trumpets. And when he went inside the house, every- 
thing was of real marble and gold, with velvet covers and 
great golden tassels. Then the doors of the hall were opened, 
and there was the court in all its splendour, and his wife was 
sitting on a high throne of gold and diamonds, with a great 
crown of gold on her head, and a sceptre of pure gold and 



GRIMM'S TALES 93 

jewels in her hand, and on both sides of her stood her maids- 
in- waiting in a row, each of them always one head shorter 
than the last. 

Then he went and stood before her, and said, " Ah, wife, 
and now you are King." ** Yes," said the woman, " now I 
am King." So he stood and looked at her, and when he had 
looked at her thus for some time, he said, " And now that 
you are King, let all else be, now we will wish for nothing 
more." " Nay, husband," said the woman, quite anxiously, 
"I find time pass very heavily, I can bear it no longer ; go to 
the Flounder — I am King, but I must be Emperor, too." 
"Alas, wife, why do you wish to be Emperor?" "Husband," 
said she, " go to the Flounder. I will be Emperor." " Alas, 
wife," said the man, " he cannot make you Emperor ; I may 
not say that to the fish. There is only one Emperor in the 
land. An Emperor the Flounder cannot make you ! I assure 
you he cannot." 

" What ! " said the woman, " I am the King, and you are 
nothing but my husband; will you go this moment? go at 
once ! If he can make a king he can make an emperor. I will 
be Emperor ; go instantly." So he was forced to go. As the 
man went, however, he was troubled in mind, and thought to 
himself, " It will not end well ; it will not end well ! Em- 
peror is too shameless ! The Flounder will at last be tired 
out." 

With that he reached the sea, and the sea was quite black 
and thick, and began to boil up from below, so that it threw 
up bubbles, and such a sharp wind blew over it that it curled, 
and the man was afraid. Then he went and stood by it, and 
said, 

"Flounder, flounder in the sea, 
Come, I pray thee, here to me ; 
For my wife, good Ilsabil, 
Wills not as I'd have her will." 

"Well, what does she want, then?" said the Flounder. 
"Alas, Flounder," said he, "my wife wants to be Em- 
peror." " Go to her," said the Flounder ; " she is Elmperor 
already." 

So the man went, and when he got there the* whole palace 
was made of polished marble with alabaster figures and 



94 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

golden ornaments, and soldiers were marching before the 
door blowing trumpets, and beating cymbals and drums ; and 
in the house, barons, and counts, and dukes were going about 
as servants. Then they opened the doors to him, which were 
of pure gold. And when he entered, there sat his wife on a 
throne, which was made of one piece of gold, and was quite 
two miles high ; and she wore a great golden crown that was 
three yards high, and set with diamonds and carbuncles, and 
in one hand she had the sceptre, and in the other the im- 
perial orb ; and on both sides of her stood the yeomen of the 
guard in two rows, each being smaller than the one before 
him, from the biggest giant, who was two miles high, to the 
very smallest dwarf, just as big as my little finger. And be- 
fore it stood a number of princes and dukes. 

Then the man went and stood among them, and said, 
" Wife, are you Emperor now ? " " Yes, said she, " now I 
am Emperor." Then he stood and looked at her well, and 
when he had looked at her thus for some time, he said, " Ah, 
wife, be content, now that you are Emperor." " Husband," 
said she, "why are you standing there? Now, I am Em- 
peror, but I will be Pope too; go to the Flounder." "Alas, 
wife," said the man, " what will you not wish for ? You can- 
not be Pope; there is but one in Christendom; he cannot 
make you Pope." " Husband," said she, " I will be Pope ; go 
immediately, I must be Pope this very day." " No, wife," 
said the man, "I do not like to say that to him; that would 
not do, it is too much; the Flounder can't make you Pope." 
" Husband," said she, " what nonsense ! if he can make an 
emperor he can make a pope. Go to him directly. I am Em- 
peror, and you are nothing but my husband; will you go at 
once ? " 

Then he was afraid and went; but he was quite faint, and 
shivered and shook, and his knees and legs trembled. And a 
high wind blew over the land, and the clouds flew, and 
towards evening all grew dark, and the leaves fell from the 
trees, and the water rose and roared as if it were boiling, 
and splashed upon the shore; and in the distance he saw 
ships which were firing guns in their sore need, pitching and 
tossing on the waves. And yet in the midst of the sky there 
was still a small bit of blue, though on every side it was as 



GRIMM'S TALES 95 

red as in a heavy storm. So, full of despair, he went and 
stood in much fear and said, 

"Flounder, flounder in the sea. 
Come, I pray thee, here to me; 
For my wife, good Ilsabil, 
Wills not as I'd have her will." 

" Well, what does she want, then ? " said the Flounder. 
" Alas," said the man, " she wants to be Pope." " Go to her 
then," said the Flounder ; " she is Pope already." 

So he went, and when he got there, he saw what seemed to 
be a large church surrounded by palaces. He pushed his way 
through the crowd. Inside, however, everything was lighted 
up with thousands and thousands of candles, and his wife 
was clad in gold, and she was sitting on a much higher 
throne, and had three great golden crowns on, and round 
about her there was much ecclesiastical splendour; and on 
both sides of her was a row of candles the largest of which 
was as tall as the very tallest tower, down to the very smallest 
kitchen candle, and all the emperors and kings were on their 
knees before her, kissing her shoe. "Wife," said the man, 
and looked attentively at her, " are you now Pope ? " " Yes," 
said she, "I am Pope." So he stood and looked at her, and 
it was just as if he was looking at the bright sun. When he 
had stood looking at her thus for a short time, he said, " Ah, 
wife, if you are Pope, do let well alone ! " But she looked 
as stiff as a post, and did not move or show any signs of 
life. Then said he, " Wife, now that you are Pope, be satis- 
fied, you cannot become anything greater now." " I will 
consider about that," said the woman. Thereupon they both 
went to bed, but she was not satisfied, and greediness let her 
have no sleep, for she was continually thinking what there 
was left for her to be. 

The man slept well and soundly, for he had run about a 
great deal during the day; but the woman could not fall 
asleep at all, and flung herself from one side to the other the 
whole night through, thinking always what more was left for 
her to be, but unable to call to mind anything else. At 
length the sun began to rise, and when the woman saw the 
red of dawn, she sat up in bed and looked at it. And when, 



96 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

through the window, she saw the sun thus rising, she said, 
" Cannot I, too, order the sun and moon to rise ? " " Hus- 
band," said she, poking him in the ribs with her elbows, 
"wake up! go to the Flounder, for I wish to be even as 
God is." The man was still half asleep, be he was so hor- 
rified that he fell out of bed. He thought he must have 
heard amiss, and rubbed his eyes, and said, "Alas, wife, 
what are you saying ? " " Husband," said she, " if I can't 
order the sun and moon to rise, and have to look on and see 
the sun and moon rising, I can't bear it. I shall not know 
what it is to have another happy hour, unless I can make 
them rise myself." Then she looked at him so terribly that 
a shudder ran over him, and said, " Go at once ; I wish to be 
like unto God." " Alas, wife," said the man, falling on his 
knees before her, " the Flounder cannot do that ; he can make 
an emperor and a pope ; I beseech you, go on as you are, and 
be Pope." Then she fell into a rage, and her hair flew wildly 
about her head, and she cried, " I will not endure this, I'll 
not bear it any longer ; wilt thou go ? " Then he put on his 
trousers and ran away like a madman. But outside a great 
storm was raging, and blowing so hard that he could scarcely 
keep his feet; houses and trees toppled over, the mountains 
trembled, rocks rolled into the sea, the sky was pitch black, 
and it thundered and lightened, and the sea came in with 
black waves as high as church-towers and mountains, and all 
with crests of white foam at the top. Then he cried, but 
could not hear his own words, 

"Flounder, flounder in the sea. 
Come, I pray thee, here to me ; 
For my wife, good Ilsabil, 
Wills not as I'd have her will." 

"Well, what does she want, then?" said the Flounder. 
" Alas," said he, " she wants to be like unto God.'* " Go to 
her, and you will find her back again in the dirty hovel." 
And there they are living still at this very time. 



GRIMM'S TALES 97 



THE VALIANT LITTLE TAILOR 

One summer's morning a little tailor was sitting on his 
table by the window; he was in good spirits, and sewed 
with all his might. Then came a peasant woman down 
the street crying, " Good jams, cheap ! Good jams, cheap ! " 
This rang pleasantly in the tailor's ears; he stretched his 
delicate head out of the window, and called, " Come up 
here, dear woman; here you will get rid of your goods." 
The woman came up the three steps to the tailor with her 
heavy basket, and he made her unpack the whole of the 
pots for him. He inspected all of them, lifted them up, 
put his nose to them, and at length said, " The jam seems 
to me to be good, so weigh me out four ounces, dear woman, 
and if it is a quarter of a pound that is of no consequence." 
The woman who had hoped to find a good sale, gave him 
what he desired, but went away quite angry and grumbling. 
" Now, God bless the jam to my use," cried the little tailor, 
" and give me health and strength ;" so he brought the 
bread out of the cupboard, cut himself a piece right across 
the loaf and spread the jam over it. " This won't taste 
bitter," said he, "but I will just finish the jacket before I 
take a bite." He laid the bread near him, sewed on, and in 
his joy, made bigger and bigger stitches. In the meantime 
the smell of the sweet jam ascended so to the wall, where 
the flies were sitting in great numbers, that they were 
attracted and descended on it in hosts. "Hola! who in- 
vited you ? " said the little tailor, and drove the unbidden 
guests away. The flies, however, who understood no Ger- 
man, would not be turned away, but came back again in 
ever-increasing companies. Then the little tailor at last 
lost all patience, and got a bit of cloth from the hole under 
his work-table, and saying, " Wait, and I will give it to you," 
struck it mercilessly on them. When he drew it away and 
counted, there lay before him no fewer than seven, dead 
and with legs stretched out. " Art thou a fellow of that 
sort ? " said he, and could not help admiring his own bravery. 
" The whole town shall know of this ! " And the little 
tailor hastened to cut himself a girdle, stitched it, and em- 



98 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

broidered on it in large letters, " Seven at one stroke ! " 
" What, the town ! " he continued, " the whole world shall 
hear of it ! " and his heart wagged with joy like a lamb's 
tail. The tailor put on the girdle, and resolved to go forth 
into the world, because he thought his workshop was too 
small for his valour. Before he went away, he sought about 
in the house to see if there was anything which he could take 
with him; however, he found nothing but an old cheese, and 
that he put in his pocket. In front of the door he observed a 
bird which had caught itself in the thicket. It had to go 
into his pocket with the cheese. Now he took to the road 
boldly, and as he was light and nimble, he felt no fatigue. 
The road led him up a mountain, and when he had reached 
the highest point of it, there sat a powerful giant looking 
about him quite comfortably. The little tailor went bravely 
up, spoke to him, and said, " Good day, comrade, so thou 
art sitting there, overlooking the wide-spread world! I 
am just on my way thither, and want to try my luck. Hast 
thou any inclination to go with me ? " The giant looked 
contemptuously at the tailor, and said, " Thou ragamuffin ! 
Thou miserable creature ! " 

" Oh, indeed ? " answered the little tailor, and unbuttoned 
his coat, and showed the giant the girdle. "There mayst thou 
read what kind of a man I am ! " The giant read, *' Seven 
at one stroke," and thought that they had been men whom 
the tailor had killed, and began to feel a little respect for 
the tiny fellow. Nevertheless, he wished to try him first, 
and took a stone in his hand and squeezed it together so that 
water dropped out of it. " Do that likewise," said the giant, 
*'if thou hast strength?" "Is that all?" said the tailor, 
" that is child's play with us ! " and put his hand into his 
pocket, brought out the soft cheese, and pressed it until 
the liquid ran out of it. " Faith," said he, " that was a little 
better, wasn't it ? " The giant did not know what to say, 
and could not believe it of the little man. Then the giant 
picked up a stone and threw it so high that the eye could 
scarcely follow it. " Now, little mite of a man, do that 
likewise." "Well thrown," said the tailor, "but after all 
the stone came down to earth again; I will throw you one 
which shall never come back at all," and he put his hand into 



GRIMM'S TALES 99 

his pocket, took out the bird, and threw it into the air. The 
bird, delighted with its liberty, rose, flew away and did not 
come back. " How does that shot please you, comrade ? " 
asked the tailor. " Thou canst certainly throw," said the 
giant, " but now we will see if thou art able to carry anything 
properly." He took the tailor to a mighty oak tree which 
lay there felled on the ground, and said, "If thou art strong 
enough, help me to carry the tree out of the forest." 
"' Readily," answered the little man ; " take thou the trunk 
on thy shoulders, and I will raise up the branches and twigs ; 
after all, they are the heaviest." The giant took the trunk 
on his shoulder, but the tailor seated himself on a branch, 
and the giant who could not look round, had to carry away 
the whole tree and the little tailor into the bargain: he be- 
hind, was quite merry and happy, and whistled the song, 
" Three tailors rode forth from the gate," as if carrying the 
tree were child's play. The giant, after he had dragged 
the heavy burden part of the way, could go no further, and 
cried, "Hark you, I shall have to let the tree fall!" The 
tailor sprang nimbly down, seized the tree with both arms 
as if he had been carrying it, and said to the giant, " Thou 
art such a great fellow, and yet canst not even carry the 
tree ! " 

They went on together, and as they passed a cherry-tree, 
the giant laid hold of the top of the tree where the ripest 
fruit was hanging, bent it down, gave it into the tailor's 
hand, and bade him eat. But the little tailor was much too 
weak to hold the tree, and when the giant let it go, it 
sprang back again, and the tailor was hurried into the air 
with it. When he had fallen down again without injury, 
the giant said, "What is this? Hast thou not strength 
enough to hold the weak twig ? " " There is no lack of 
strength," answered the little tailor. " Dost thou think that 
could be anything to a man who has struck down seven at 
one blow? I leapt over the tree because the huntsmen are 
shooting down there in the thicket. Jump as I did, if thou 
canst do it." The giant made the attempt, but could not 
get over the tree, and remained hanging in the branches, 
so that in this also the tailor kept the upper hand. 

The giant said, "If thou art such a vahant fellow, come 



100 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

with me into our cavern and spend the night with us." The 
little fellow was willing, and followed tiim. When they 
went into the cave, other giants were sitting there by the 
fire, and each of them, had a roasted sheep in his hand and 
was eating it. The little tailor looked round and thought, 
" It is much more spacious here than in my workshop." The 
giant showed him a bed, and said he was to lie down in it 
and sleep. The bed was, however, too big for the little 
tailor; he did not lie down in it, but crept into a corner. 
When it was midnight, and the giant thought that the little 
tailor was lying in a sound sleep, he got up, took a great 
iron bar, cut through the bed with one blow, and thought 
he had given the grasshopper his finishing stroke. With 
the earliest dawn the giants went into the forest, and had 
quite forgotten the little tailor, when all at once he walked up 
to them quite merrily and boldly. The giants were terrified, 
they were afraid that he would strike them all dead, and 
ran away in a great hurry. 

The little tailor went onwards, always following his own 
pointed nose. After he had walked for a long time, he came 
to the court-yard of a royal palace, and as he felt weary, he 
lay down on the grass and fell asleep. Whilst he lay there, 
the people came and inspected him on all sides, and read 
on his girdle, " Seven at one stroke." "Ah ! " said they, 
"what does the great warrior here in the midst of peace? 
He must be a mighty lord." They went and announced him 
to the King, and gave it as their opinion that if war should 
break out, this would be a weighty and useful man who 
ought on no account to be allowed to depart. The counsel 
pleased the King, and he sent one of his courtiers to the little 
tailor to offer him military service when he awoke. The 
ambassador remained standing by the sleeper, waited until 
he stretched his limbs and opened his eyes, and then con- 
veyed to him this proposal. " For this very reason have 
I come here," the tailor replied, " I am ready to enter the 
King's service." He was therefore honourably received, and 
a separate dwelling was assigned him. 

The soldiers, however, were set against the little tailor, 
and wished him a thousand miles away. " What is to be 
the end of this?" they said amongst themselves. "If we 



GRIMM'S TALES 101 

quarrel with him, and he strikes about him, seven of us will 
fall at every blow; not one of us can stand against him." 
They came therefore to a decision, betook themselves in a 
body to the King, and begged for their dismissal. " We are 
not prepared," said they, "to stay with a man who kills 
seven at one stroke." The King was sorry that for the sake 
of one he should lose all his faithful servants, wished that 
he had never set eyes on the tailor, and would willingly have 
been rid of him again. But he did not venture to give him 
his dismissal, for he dreaded lest he should strike him and all 
his people dead, and place himself on the royal throne. He 
thought about it for a long time, and at last found good 
counsel. He sent to the little tailor and caused him to be 
informed that as he was such a great warrior, he had one 
request to make to him. In a forest of his country lived 
two giants, who caused great mischief with robbing, murder- 
ing, ravaging, and burning, and no one could approach them 
without putting himself in danger of death. If the tailor 
conquered and killed these two giants, he would give him 
his only daughter to wife, and half of his kingdom as 
a dowry, likewise one hundred horsemen should go with him 
to assist him. " That would indeed be a fine thing for a 
man like me ! " thought the little tailor. " One is not offered a 
beautiful princess and half a kingdom every day of one's life !" 
" Oh, yes," he replied, *1 will soon subdue the giants, and do 
not require the help of the hundred horsemen to do it; he who 
can hit seven at one blow, has no need to be afraid of two." 
The little tailor went forth, and the hundred horsemen fol- 
lowed him. When he came to the outskirts of the forest, 
he said to his followers, "Just stay waiting here, I alone 
will soon finish off the giants." Then he bounded into the 
forest and looked about right and left. After a while he 
perceived both giants. They lay sleeping under a tree, and 
snored so that the branches waved up and down. The little 
tailor, not idle, gathered two pocketsful of stones, and with 
these climbed up the tree. When he was half-way up, he 
slipped down by a branch, until he sat just above the sleepers, 
and then let one stone after another fall on the breast of 
one of the giants. For a long time the giant felt nothing, 
but at last awoke, pushed his comrade, and said, " Why art 

HC XVII— G 



102 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

thou knocking me?" "Thou must be dreaming," said the 
other, "I am not knocking thee." They laid themselves 
down to sleep again, and then the tailor threw a stone down 
on the second. " What is the meaning of this ? " cried the 
other. " Why art thou pelting me ? " "I am not pelting 
thee," answered the first, growling. They disputed about it 
for a time, but as they were weary they let the matter 
rest, and their eyes closed once more. The little tailor be- 
gan his game again, picked out the biggest stone, and threw 
it with all his might on the breast of the first giant. " That 
is too bad ! " cried he, and sprang up like a madman, and 
pushed his companion against the tree until it shook. The 
other paid him back in the same coin, and they got into such 
a rage that they tore up trees and belaboured each other 
so long, that at last they both fell down dead on the ground 
at the same time. Then the little tailor leapt down. " It 
is a lucky thing," said he, " that they did not tear up the tree 
on which I was sitting, or I should have had to spring on to 
another like a squirrel ; but we tailors are nimble." He drew 
out his sword and gave each of them a couple of thrusts 
in the breast, and then went out to the horsemen and said, 
"The work is done; I have given both of them their finish- 
ing stroke, but it was hard work! They tore up trees in 
their sore need, and defended themselves with them, but 
all that is to no purpose when a man like myself comes, who 
can kill seven at one blow." " But are you not wounded ? " 
asked the horsemen. " You need not concern yourself about 
that," answered the tailor, "they have not bent one hair 
of mine." The horsemen would not believe him, and rode 
into the forest; there they found the giants swimming in 
their blood, and all round about, lay the torn-up trees. 

The little tailor demanded of the King the promised 
reward ; he however, repented of his promise, and again be- 
thought himself how he could get rid of the hero. " Before 
thou receivest my daughter, and half of my kingdom," said 
he to him, "thou must perform one more heroic deed. In 
the forest roams a unicorn which does great harm, and 
thou must catch it first." " I fear one unicorn still less than 
two giants. Seven at one blow, is my kind of affair." He 
took a rope and an axe with him, went forth into the 



GRIMM'S TALES 103 

forest, and bade those who were sent with him to wait 
outside. He had not to seek long. The unicorn soon came 
towards him, and rushed directly on the tailor, as if it 
would spit him on its horn without more ceremony. " Softly, 
softly ; it can't be done as quickly as that," said he, and stood 
still and waited until the animal was quite close, and then 
sprang nimbly behind the tree. The unicorn ran against the 
tree with all its strength, and stuck its horn so fast in the 
trunk that it had not strength enough to draw it out again, 
and thus it was caught. " Now, I have got the bird," said 
the tailor, and came out from behind the tree and put the 
rope round its neck, and then with his axe he hewed the 
horn out of the tree, and when all was ready he led the 
beast away and took it to the King. 

The King still would not give him the promised reward, 
and made a third demand. Before the wedding the tailor 
was to catch him a wild boar that made great havoc in the 
forest, and the huntsmen should give him their help. " Will- 
ingly," said the tailor, " that is child's play ! " He did not 
take the huntsmen with him into the forest, and they were 
pleased that he did not, for the wild boar had several times 
received them in such a manner that they had no inclination 
to lie in wait for him. When the boar perceived the tailor, 
it ran on him with foaming mouth and whetted tusks, and 
was about to throw him to the ground, but the active hero 
sprang into a chapel which was near, and up to the window 
at once, and in one bound out again. The boar ran in 
after him, but the tailor ran round outside and shut the 
door behind it, and then the raging beast, which was much too 
heavy and awkward to leap out of the window, was caught. 
The little tailor called the huntsmen thither that they might 
see the prisoner with their own eyes. The hero, however, 
went to the King, who was now, whether he liked it or not, 
obliged to keep his promise, and gave him his daughter and 
the half of his kingdom. Had he known that it was no 
warlike hero, but a little tailor who was standing before him, 
it would have gone to his heart still more than it did. The 
wedding was held with great magnificence and small joy, and 
out of a tailor a king was made. 

After some time the young Queen heard her husband say 



104 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

in his dreams at night, " Boy, make me the doublet, and patch 
the pantaloons, or else I will rap the yard-measure over 
thine ears." Then she discovered in what state of life the 
young lord had been born, and next morning complained 
of her wrongs to her father, and begged him to help her 
to get rid of her husband, who was nothing else but a tailor. 
The King comforted her and said, " Leave thy bed-room 
door open this night, and my servants shall stand outside, 
and when he has fallen asleep shall go in, bind him, and take 
him on board a ship which shall carry him into the wide 
world." The woman was satisfied with this ; but the King's 
armour-bearer, who had heard all, was friendly with the 
young lord, and informed him of the whole plot. " I'll put 
a screw into that business," said the little tailor. At night 
he went to bed with his wife at the usual time, and when she 
thought that he had fallen asleep, she got up, opened the 
door, and then lay down again. The little tailor, who was 
only pretending to be asleep, began to cry out in a clear voice, 
" Boy, make me the doublet and patch me the pantaloons, 
or I will rap the yard-measure over thine ears. I smote 
seven at one blow. I killed two giants, I brought away 
one unicorn, and caught a wild boar, and am I to fear 
those who are standing outside the room ? " When these 
men heard the tailor speaking thus, they were overcome by 
a great dread, and ran as if the wild huntsman were behind 
them, and none of them would venture anything further 
against him. So the little tailor was a king, and remained 
one to the end of his life. 



CINDERELLA 

The wife of a rich man fell sick, and as she felt that her 
end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to 
her bedside and said, " Dear child, be good and pious, and 
then the good God will always protect thee, and I will look 
down on thee from heaven and be near thee." Thereupon 
she closed her eyes and departed. Every day the maiden went 
out to her mother's grave and wept, and she remained pious 
and good, Wh^^ yylnt^V came the snow spread a white sheet 



GRIMM'S TALES lOS 

over the grave, and when the spring sun had drawn it off 
again, the man had taken another wife. 

The woman had brought two daughters into the house with 
her, who were beautiful and fair of face, but vile and black 
of heart. Now began a bad time for the poor step-child. 
" Is the stupid goose to sit in the parlour with us ? " said 
they. " He who wants to eat bread must earn it ; out with 
the kitchen-wench." They took her pretty clothes away 
from her, put an old grey bedgown on her, and gave her 
wooden shoes. "Just look at the proud princess, how 
decked out she is ! " they cried, and laughed, and led her 
into the kitchen. There she had to do hard work from 
morning till night, get up before daybreak, carry water, 
light fires, cook and wash. Besides this, the sisters did her 
every imaginable injury — they mocked her and emptied 
her peas and lentils into the ashes, so that she was forced to 
sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had 
worked till she was weary she had no bed to go to, but had 
to sleep by the fireside in the ashes. And as on that account 
she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinder- 
ella. It happened that the father was once going to the fair, 
and he asked his two step-daughters what he should bring 
back for them. " Beautiful dresses," said one, " Pearls and 
jewels," said the second. "And thou, Cinderella," said he, 
" what wilt thou have ? " " Father, break off for me the 
first branch which knocks against your hat on your way 
home." So he brought beautiful dresses, pearls and jewels 
for his two step-daughters, and on his way home, as he was 
riding through a green thicket, a hazel twig brushed against 
him and knocked off his hat. Then he broke off the branch 
and took it with him. When he reached home he gave his 
step-daughters the things which they wished for, and to 
Cinderella he gave the branch from the hazel-bush. Cinder- 
ella thanked him, went to her mother's grave and planted the 
branch on it, and wept so much that the tears fell down on it 
and watered it. It grew, however, and became a handsome 
tree. Thrice a day Cinderella went and sat beneath it, and 
wept and prayed, and a little white bird always came on the 
tree, and if Cinderella expressed a wish, the bird threw down 
to her what she had wished for. 



106 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

It happened, however, that the King appointed a festival 
which was to last three days, and to which all the beautiful 
young girls in the country were invited, in order that his 
son might choose a bride. When the two step-daughters 
heard that they too were to appear among the number, they 
were delighted, called Cinderella and said, " Comb our 
hair for us, brush our shoes and fasten our buckles, for 
we are going to the festival at the King's palace." Cinder- 
ella obeyed, but wept, because she too would have liked to 
go with them to the dance, and begged her step-mother to 
allow her to do so. " Thou go, Cinderella ! " said she. " Thou 
art dusty and dirty, and wouldst go to the festival? Thou 
hast no clothes and shoes, and yet wouldst dance ! " As, how- 
ever, Cinderella went on asking, the step-mother at last said, 
" I have emptied a dish of lentils into the ashes for thee, if 
thou hast picked them out again in two hours, thou shalt 
go with us." The maiden went through the back-door into 
the garden, and called, " You tame pigeons, you turtle-doves, 
and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to pick 

"The good into the pot, 
The bad into the crop." 

Then two white pigeons came in by the kitchen-window, 
and afterwards the turtle-doves, and at last all the birds be- 
neath the sky, came whirring and crowding in, and alighted 
amongst the ashes. And the pigeons nodded with their heads 
and began pick, pick, pick, pick, and the rest began also pick, 
pick, pick, pick, and gathered all the good grains into the dish. 
Hardly had one hour passed before they had finished, and 
all flew out again. Then the girl took the dish to her 
step-mother, and was glad, and believed that now she would 
be allowed to go with them to the festival. But the step- 
mother said, " No, Cinderella, thou hast no clothes and thou 
canst not dance; thou wouldst only be laughed at." And 
as Cinderella wept at this, the step-mother said, "If thou 
canst pick two dishes of lentils out of the ashes for me in 
one hour, thou shalt go with us." And she thought to herself 
" That she most certainly cannot do." When the step-mother 
had emptied the two dishes of lentils amongst the ashes, the 
maiden went through the back-door into the garden and 



GRIMM'S TALES 107 

cried, "You tame pigeons, you turtle-doves, and all you 
birds under heaven, come and help me to pick 

"The good into the pot, 
The bad into the crop." 

Then two white pigeons came in by the kitchen-window, 
and afterwards the turtle-doves, and at length all the birds 
beneath the sky, came whirring and crowding in, and alighted 
amongst the ashes. And the doves nodded with their 
heads and began to pick, pick, pick, pick, and others be- 
gan also pick, pick, pick, pick, and gathered all the good 
seeds into the dishes, and before half an hour was over they 
had already finished, and all flew out again. Then the 
maiden carried the dishes to the step-mother and was de- 
lighted, and believed that she might now go with them to 
the festival. But the step-mother said, "All this will not 
help thee; thou goest not with us, for thou hast no clothes 
and canst not dance ; we should be ashamed of thee ! " On 
this she turned her back on Cinderella, and hurried away 
with her two proud daughters. 

As no one was now at home, Cinderella went to her 
mother's grave beneath the hazel-tree, and cried, 

♦♦Shiver and quiver, little tree, 
Silver and gold throw down over me." 

Then the bird threw a gold and silver dress down to her, 
and slippers embroidered with silk and silver. She put 
on the dress with all speed, and went to the festival. Her 
step-mother, however, did not know her, and thought she must 
be a foreign princess, for she looked so beautiful in the 
golden dress. They never once thought of Cinderella, and 
believed that she was sitting at home in the dirt, picking 
lentils out of the ashes. The prince went to meet her, took 
her by the hand, and danced with her. He would dance with 
no other maiden, and never left loose of her hand, and 
if any one else came to invite her, he said, "This is my 
partner." 

She danced till it was evening, and then she wanted to go 
home. But the King's son said, " I will go with thee and 
bear thee company," for he wished to see to whom the 



108 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

beautiful maiden belonged. She escaped from him, how- 
ever, and sprang into the pigeon-house. The King's son 
waited until her father came, and then he told him that the 
stranger maiden had leapt into the pigeon-house. The 
old man thought, "Can it be Cinderella?" and they had 
to bring him an axe and a pickaxe that he might hew the 
pigeon-house to pieces, but no one was inside it. And when 
they got home Cinderella lay in her dirty clothes among 
the ashes, and a dim little oil-lamp was burning on the 
mantel-piece, for Cinderella had jumped quickly down from 
the back of the pigeon-house and had run to the little hazel- 
tree, and there she had taken off her beautiful clothes and 
laid them on the grave, and the bird had taken them away 
again, and then she had placed herself in the kitchen amongst 
the ashes in her grey gown. 

Next day when the festival began afresh, and her parents 
and the step-sisters had gone once more, Cinderella went 
to the hazel-tree and said — 

•'Shiver and quiver, my little tree, 
Silver and gold throw down over me." 

Then the bird threw down a much more beautiful dress 
than on the preceding day. And when Cinderella appeared 
at the festival in this dress, every one was astonished at her 
beauty. The King's son had waited until she came, and 
instantly took her by the hand and danced with no one but 
her. When others came and invited her, he said, " She is my 
partner." When evening came she wished to leave, and the 
King's son followed her and wanted to see into which house 
she went. But she sprang away from him, and into the 
garden behind the house. Therein stood a beautiful tall 
tree on which hung the most magnificent pears. ^ She 
clambered so nimbly between the branches like a squirrel, 
that the King's son did not know where she was gone. 
He waited until her father came, and said to him, "The 
stranger maiden has escaped from me, and I believe she has 
climbed up the pear-tree." The father thought, " Can it be 
Cinderella? " and had an axe brought and cut the tree down, 
but no one was in it. And when they got into the kitchen, 
Cinderella lay there amongst the ashes, as usual, for she 



GRIMM'S TALES 109 

had jumped down on the other side of the tree, had taken 
the beautiful dress to the bird on the little hazel-tree, and 
put on her grey gown. 

On the third day, when the parents and sisters had gone 
away, Cinderella once more went to her mother's grave and 
said to the little tree — 

'* Shiver and quiver, my little tree, 
Silver and gold throw down over me." 

And now the bird threw down to her a dress which was 
more splendid and magnificent than any she had yet had, 
and the slippers were golden. And when she went to the 
festival in the dress, no one knew how to speak for astonish- 
ment. The King's son danced with her only, and if any one 
invited her to dance, he said, " She is my partner." 

When evening came, Cinderella wished to leave, and the 
King's son was anxious to go with her, but she escaped from 
him so quickly that he could not follow her. The King's 
son had, however, used a stratagem, and had caused the 
whole staircase to be smeared with pitch, and there, when 
she ran down, had- the maiden's left slipper remained sticking. 
The King's son picked it up, and it was small and dainty, and 
all golden. Next morning, he went with it to the father, and 
said to him, " No one shall be my wife but she whose foot 
this golden slipper fits." Then were the two sisters glad, 
for they had pretty feet. The eldest went with the shoe into 
her room and wanted to try it on, and her mother stood by. 
But she could not get her big toe into it, and the shoe 
was too small for her. Then her mother gave her a knife 
and said, " Cut the toe ofif ; when thou art Queen thou wilt 
have no more need to go on foot." The maiden cut the 
toe off, forced the foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, 
and went out to the King's son. Then he took her on his 
horse as his bride and rode away with her. They were, 
however, obliged to pass the grave, and there, on the hazel- 
tree, sat the two pigeons and cried, 

"Turn and peep, turn and peep, 
There's blood within the shoe, 
The shoe it is too small for her, 
The true bride waits for you." 



110 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

Then he looked at her foot and saw how the blood was 
streaming from it. He turned his horse round and took the 
false bride home again, and said she was not the true one, 
and that the other sister was to put the shoe on. Then this 
one went into her chamber and got her toes safely into the 
shoe, but her heel was too large. So her mother gave her 
a knife and said, " Cut a bit off thy heel ; when thou art 
Queen thou wilt have no more need to go on foot." The 
maiden cut a bit off her heel, forced her foot into the shoe, 
swallowed the pain, and went out to the King's son. He 
took her on his horse as his bride, and rode away with her, 
but when they passed by the hazel-tree, two little pigeons 
sat on it and cried, 

" Turn and peep, turn and peep, 
There's blood within the shoe, 
The shoe it is too small for her. 
The true bride waits for you." 

He looked down at her foot and saw how the blood was 
running out of her shoe, and how it had stained her white 
stocking. Then he turned his horse and took the false bride 
home again. " This also is not the right one," said he, "have 
you no other daughter ? " " No," said the man, " There is 
still a little stunted kitchen-wench which my late wife left 
behind her, but she cannot possibly be the bride." The 
King's son said he was to send her up to him ; but the mother 
answered, " Oh no, she is much too dirty, she cannot show 
herself ! " He absolutely insisted on it, and Cinderella had to 
be called. She first washed her hands and face clean, and 
then went and bowed down before the King's son, who gave 
her the golden shoe. Then she seated herself on a stool, 
drew her foot out of the heavy wooden shoe, and put it 
into the slipper, which fitted like a glove. And when she 
rose up and the King's son looked at her face he recognized 
the beautiful maiden who had danced with him and cried, 
"That is the true bride!" The step-mother and the 
two sisters were terrified and became pale with rage; he, 
however, took Cinderella on his horse and rode away with 
her. As they passed by the hazel-tree, the two white doves 
cried, 



GRIMM'S TALES IH 

"Turn and peep, turn and peep, 
No blood is in the shoe. 
The shoe is not too small for her, 
The true bride rides with you." 

and when they had cried that, the two came flying down 
and placed themselves on Cinderella's shoulders, one on 
the right, the other on the left, and remained sitting there. 
When the wedding with the King's son had to be cele- 
brated, the two false sisters came and wanted to get into 
favour with Cinderella and share her good fortune. When 
the betrothed couple went to church, the elder was at the 
right side and the younger at the left, and the pigeons 
pecked out one eye of each of them. Afterwards as they 
came back, the elder was at the left, and the younger at 
the right, and then the pigeons pecked out the other eye 
of each. And thus, for their wickedness and falsehood, 
they were punished with blindness as long as they lived. 



MOTHER HOLLE 

There was once a widow who had two daughters — one of 
whom was pretty and industrious, whilst the other was 
ugly and idle. But she was much fonder of the ugly and 
idle one, because she was her own daughter; and the other, 
who was a step-daughter, was obliged to do all the work, 
and be the Cinderella of the house. Every day the poor girl 
had to sit by a well, in the highway, and spin and spin till 
her fingers bled. 

Now it happened that one day the shuttle was marked with 
her blood, so she dipped it in the well, to wash the mark 
off; but it dropped out of her hand and fell to the bottom. 
She began to weep, and ran to her step-mother and told her 
of the mishap. But she scolded her sharply, and was so 
merciless as to say, " Since you have let the shuttle fall in, 
you must fetch it out again." 

So the girl went back to the well, and did not know what 
to do: and in the sorrow of her heart she jumped into the 
well to get the shuttle. She lost her senses; and when she 
awoke and came to herself again, she was in a lovely 



112 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

meadow where the sun was shining and many thousands 
of flowers were growing. Along this meadow she went, and 
at last came to a baker's oven full of bread, and the bread 
cried out, " Oh, take me out ! take me out ! or I shall burn ; 
I have been baked a long time ! " So she went up to it, 
and took out all the loaves one after another with the bread- 
shovel. After that she went on till she came to a tree cov- 
ered with apples, which called out to her, " Oh, shake me ! 
shake me ! we apples are all ripe ! " So she shook the tree 
till the apples fell like rain, and went on shaking till they 
were all down, and when she had gathered them into a heap, 
she went on her way. 

At last she came to a little house, out of which an old 
woman peeped; but she had such large teeth that the girl 
was frightened, and was about to run away. 

But the old woman called out to her, " What are you 
afraid of, dear child? Stay with me; if you will do all 
the work in the house properly, you shall be the better for 
it. Only you must take care to make my bed well, and to 
shake it thoroughly till the feathers fly — for then there is 
snow on the earth. I am Mother Holle."^ 

As the eld woman spoke so kindly to her, the girl took 
courage and agreed to enter her service. She attended to 
everything to the satisfaction of her mistress, and always 
shook her bed so vigorously that the feathers flew about like 
snow-flakes. So she had a pleasant life with her; never an 
angry word; and boiled or roast meat every day. 

She stayed some time with Mother Holle, and then she 
became sad. At first she did not know what was the matter 
with her, but found at length that it was homesickness; 
although she was many thousand times better off here than 
at home, still she had a longing to be there. At last she said 
to the old woman, " I have a longing for home ; and however 
well off I am down here, I cannot stay any longer; I must 
go up again to my own people." Mother Holle said, " I 
am pleased that you long for your home again, and as you 
have served me truly, I myself will take you up again." 
Thereupon she took her by the hand, and led her to a large 

1 Thus in Hesse, when it snows, they say, " Mother Holle is making 
her bed." 



GRIMM'S TALES 113 

door. The door was opened, and just as the maiden was 
standing beneath the doorway, a heavy shower of golden 
rain fell, and all the gold remained sticking to her, so that 
she was completely covered with it. 

" You shall have that because you are so industrious," 
said Mother Holle; and at the same time she gave her back 
the shuttle which she had let fall into the well. Thereupon 
the door closed, and the maiden found herself up above upon 
the earth, not far from her mother's house. 

And as she went into the yard the cock was standing by 
the well-side, and cried — 

"Cock-a-doodle-doo 1 
Your golden girl's come back to you I" 

So she went in to her mother, and as she arrived thus cov- 
ered with gold, she was well received, both by her and her 
sister. 

The girl told all that had happened to her ; and as soon as 
the mother heard how she had come by so much wealth, she 
was very anxious to obtain the same good luck for the 
ugly and lazy daughter. She had to seat herself by the 
well and spin ; and in order that her shuttle might be stained 
with blood, she stuck her hand into a thorn bush and pricked 
her finger. Then she threw her shuttle into the well, and 
jumped in after it. 

She came, like the other, to the beautiful meadow and 
walked along the very same path. When she got to the 
oven the bread again cried, " Oh, take me out ! take me out ! 
or I shall burn ; I have been baked a long time ! " 

But the lazy thing answered, "As if I had any wish to make 
myself dirty ? " and on she went. Soon she came to the 
apple-tree, which cried, " Oh, shake me ! shake me ! we 
apples are all ripe ! " But she answered, " I like that ! 
one of you might fall on my head," and so went on. 

When she came to Mother Holle's house she was not 
afraid, for she had already heard of her big teeth, and she 
hired herself to her immediately. 

The first day she forced herself to work diligently, and 
obeyed Mother Holle when she told her to do anything, for 
she was thinking of all the gold that she would give her. 



114 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

But on the second day she began to be lazy, and on the 
third day still more so, and then she would not get up in 
the morning at all. Neither did she make Mother HoUe's 
bed as she ought, and did not shake it so as to make the 
feathers fly up. Mother Holle was soon tired of this, and 
gave her notice to leave. The lazy girl was willing enough 
to go, and thought that now the golden rain would come. 
Mother Holle led her too to the great door; but while she 
was standing beneath it, instead of the gold a big kettle of 
pitch was emptied over her. " That is the reward of your 
service," said Mother Holle, and shut the door. 

So the lazy girl went home; but she was quite covered 
with pitch and the cock by the well-side, as soon as he saw 
her, cried out — 

"Cock-a-doodle-doo ! 
Your pitchy girl's come back to you !" 

But the pitch stuck fast to her, and could not be got off as 
long as she lived. 



THE SEVEN RAVENS 

There was once a man who had seven sons, and still he 
had no daughter, however much he wished for one. At 
length his wife again gave him hope of a child, and when 
it came into the world it was a girl. The joy was great, 
but the child was sickly and small, and had to be privately 
baptized on account of its weakness. The father sent one 
of the boys in haste to the spring to fetch water for the 
baptism. The other six went with him, and as each of 
them wanted to be first to fill it, the jug fell into the well. 
There they stood and did not know what to do, and none 
of them dared to go home. As they still did not return, the 
father grew impatient, and said, " They have certainly for- 
gotten it for some game, the wicked boys ! " He became 
afraid that the girl would have to die without being baptized, 
and in his anger cried, " I wish the boys were all turned 
into ravens." Hardly was the word spoken before he heard 
a whirring of wings over his head in the air, looked up and 



GRIMM'S TALES 115 

saw seven coal-black ravens flying away. The parents could 
not recall the curse, and however sad they were at the loss 
of their seven sons, they still to some extent comforted 
themselves with their dear little daughter, who soon grew 
strong and every day became more beautiful. For a long 
time she did not know that she had had brothers, for her 
parents were careful not to mention them before her, but 
one day she accidentally heard some people saying of her- 
self, " that the girl was certainly beautiful, but that in 
reality she was to blame for the misfortune which had be- 
fallen her seven brothers." Then she was much troubled, 
and went to her father and mother and asked if it was 
true that she had had brothers, and what had become of 
them ? The parents now dared to keep the secret no longer, 
but said that what had befallen her brothers was the will 
of Heaven, and that her birth had only been the innocent 
cause. But the maiden laid it to heart daily, and thought 
she must deliver her brothers. She had no rest or peace 
until she set out secretly, and went forth into the wide world 
to trace out her brothers and set them free, let it cost what 
it might. She took nothing with her but a little ring be- 
longing to her parents as a keepsake, a loaf of bread against 
hunger, a little pitcher of water against thirst, and a little 
chair as a provision against weariness. 

And now she went continually onwards, far, far, to the 
very end of the world. Then she came to the sun, but it 
was too hot and terrible, and devoured little children. Hast- 
ily she ran away, and ran to the moon, but it was far too 
cold, and also awful and malicious, and when it saw the 
child, it said, " I smell, I smell the flesh of men." On this 
she ran swiftly away, and came to the stars, which were 
kind and good to her and each of them sat on its own 
particular little chair. But the morning star arose, and gave 
her the drumstick of a chicken, and said, " If thou hast not 
that drumstick thou canst not open the Glass mountain, 
and in the Glass mountain are thy brothers." 

The maiden took the drumstick, wrapped it carefully in a 
cloth, and went onwards again until she came to the Glass 
mountain. The door was shut, and she thought she would 
take out the drumstick; but when she undid the cloth, it 



116 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

was empty, and she had lost the good star's present. What 
was she now to do? She wished to rescue her brothers, 
and had no key to the Glass mountain. The good sister took 
a knife, cut off one of her little fingers, put it in the door, 
and succeeded in opening it. When she had gone inside, a 
little dwarf came to meet her, who said, " My child, what 
are you looking for ? " "I am looking for my brothers, 
the seven ravens," she replied. The dwarf said, ** The 
lord ravens are not at home, but if you will wait here until 
they come, step in." Thereupon the little dwarf carried 
the ravens' dinner in, on seven little plates, and in seven 
little glasses, and the little sister ate a morsel from each 
plate, and from each little glass she took a sip, but in the 
last little glass she dropped the ring which she had brought 
away with her. 

Suddenly she heard a whirring of wings and a rushing 
through the air, and then the little dwarf said, "Now the 
lord ravens are flying home." Then they came, and wanted 
to eat and drink, and looked for their little plates and glasses. 
Then said one after the other, " Who has eaten something 
from my plate ? Who has drunk out of my little glass ? It 
was a human mouth." And when the seventh came to the 
bottom of the glass, the ring rolled against his mouth. 
Then he looked at it, and saw that it was a ring belonging 
to his father and mother, and said, " God grant that our 
sister may be here, and then we shall be free." When the 
maiden, who was standing behind the door watching, heard 
that wish, she came forth, and on this all the ravens were 
restored to their human form again. And they embraced 
and kissed each other, and went joyfully home. 



LITTLE RED-CAP* 

Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who was 
loved by every one who looked at her, but most of all by 
her grandmother, and there was nothing that she would 

^ The English version of this story, the well-known Little Red-Riding- 
Hood, is probably derived more immediately from the French, " Le Petit 
Chaperon Rouge," as given by Perrault, where it ends with the death 
of the girl. 



GRIMM'S TALES 117 

not have given to the child. Once she gave her a little cap 
of red velvet, which suited her so well that she would never 
wear anything else ; so she was always called " Little 
Red-Cap." 

One day her mother said to her, " Come, Little Red- 
Cap, here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine; take 
them to your grandmother, she is ill and weak, and they 
will do her good. Set out before it gets hot, and when 
you are going walk nicely and quietly and do not run off 
the path, or you may fall and break the bottle, and then 
your grandmother will get nothing; and when you go 
into her room, don't forget to say, * Good-morning,' and 
don't peep into every corner before you do it." 

"I will take great care," said Little Red-Cap to her 
mother, and gave her hand on it. 

The grandmother lived out in the wood, half a league 
from the village, and just as Little Red-Cap entered the 
wood, a wolf met her. Red-Cap did not know what a wicked 
creature he was, and was not at all afraid of him. 

" Good-day, Little Red-Cap," said he. 

" Thank you kindly, wolf." 

" Whither away so early, Little Red-Cap ? " 

" To my grandmother's." 

" What have you got in your apron ? " 

" Cake and wine ; yesterday was baking-day, so poor 
sick grandmother is to have something good, to make her 
stronger." 

" Where does your grandmother live. Little Red-Cap ? " 

" A good quarter of a league farther on in the wood ; her 
house stands under the the three large oak-trees, the nut- 
trees are just below; you surely must know it," replied 
Little Red-Cap. 

The wolf thought to himself, " What a tender young 
creature! what a nice plump mouthful — she will be better 
to eat than the old woman. I must act craftily, so as to 
catch both." So he walked for a short time by the side of 
Little Red-Cap, and then he said, "See, Little Red-Cap, 
how pretty the flowers are about here — why do you not 
look round? I believe, too, that you do not hear how 
sweetly the little birds are singing; you walk gravely along 

HC XVII—H 



118 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

as if you were going to school, while everything else out 
here in the wood is merry." 

Little Red-Cap raised her eyes, and when she saw the 
sunbeams dancing here and there through the trees, and 
pretty flowers growing everywhere, she thought, " Suppose 
I take grandmother a fresh nosegay; that would please 
her too. It is so early in the day that I shall still get there 
in good time ; " and so she ran from the path into the wood 
to look for flowers. And whenever she had picked one, she 
fancied that she saw a still prettier one farther on, and 
ran after it, and so got deeper and deeper into the Wood. 

Meanwhile the wolf ran straight to the grandmother's 
house and knocked at the door. 

"Who is there?" 

"Little Red-Cap," replied the wolf. "She is bringing 
cake and wine; open the door." 

" Lift the latch," called out the grandmother, " I am too 
weak, and cannot get up." 

The wolf lifted the latch, the door flew open, and with- 
out saying a word he went straight to the grandmother's 
bed, and devoured her. Then he put on her clothes, dressed 
himself in her cap, laid himself in bed and drew the curtains. 

Little Red-Cap, however had been running about picking 
flowers, and when she had gathered so many that she could 
carry no more, she remembered her grandmother, and set 
out on the way to her. 

She was surprised to find the cottage-door standing open, 
and when she went into the room, she had such a strange 
feeling that she said to herself, " Oh dear ! how uneasy I 
feel to-day, and at other times I like being with grandmother 
so much." She called out, " Good morning," but received no 
answer ; so she went to the bed and drew back the curtains. 
There lay her grandmother with her cap pulled far over her 
face and looking very strange. 

" Oh ! grandmother," she said, " what big ears you have ! " 

" The better to hear you with, my child," was the reply. 

" But, grandmother, what big eyes you have ! " she said. 

" The better to see you with," my dear." 

" But grandmother, what large hands you have I " 

" The better to hug you with." 



GRIMM'S TALES 119 

" Oh ! but, grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you 
have ! " 

" The better to eat you with ! " 

And scarcely had the wolf said this, than with one bound 
he was out of bed and swallowed up Red-Cap. 

When the wolf had appeased his appetite, he lay down 
again in the bed, fell asleep and began to snore very loud. 
The huntsman was just passing the house, and thought to 
himself, "How the old woman is snoring! I must just see 
if she wants anything." So he went into the room, and 
when he came to the bed, he saw that the wolf was lying 
in it. ** Do I find thee here, thou old sinner ! " said he. " I 
have long sought thee!" Then just as he was going to 
fire at him, it occurred to him that the wolf might have 
devoured the grandmother, and that she might still be 
saved, so he did not fire, but took a pair of scissors, and 
began to cut open the stomach of the sleeping wolf. When 
he had made two snips, he saw the little Red-Cap shining, 
and then he made two snips more, and the little girl sprang 
out, crying, "Ah, how frightened I have been! How dark 
it was inside the wolf ; " and after that the aged grandmother 
came out alive also, but scarcely able to breathe. Red-Cap, 
however, quickly fetched great stones with which they filled 
the wolf's body, and when he awoke, he wanted to run away, 
but the stones were so heavy that he fell down at once, and 
fell dead. 

Then all three were delighted. The huntsman drew off 
the wolf's skin and went home with it; the grandmother 
ate the cake and drank the wine which Red-Cap had 
brought, and revived, but Red-Cap thought to herself, " As 
long as I live, I will never by myself leave the path, to run 
into the wood, when my mother has forbidden me to do so." 

It is also related that once when Red-Cap was again 
taking cakes to the old grandmother, another wolf spoke" 
to her, and tried to entice her from the path. Red-Cap 
was, however, on her guard, and went straight forward on 
her way, and told her grandmother that she had met the 
wolf, and that he had said " good-morning " to her, but 
with such a wicked look in his eyes, that if they had not 



120 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

been on the public road she was certain he would have eaten 
her up. " Well," said the grandmother, " we will shut the 
door, that he may not come in." Soon afterwards the wolf 
knocked, and cried, "Open the door, grandmother, I am 
little Red-Cap, and am fetching you some cakes." But 
they did not speak, or open the door, so the grey-beard 
stole twice or thrice round the house, and at last jumped 
on the roof, intending to wait until Red-Cap went home in 
the evening, and then to steal after and devour her in the 
darkness. But the grandmother saw what was in his 
thoughts. In front of the house was a great stone trough, 
so she said to the child, " Take the pail, Red-Cap ; I made 
some sausages yesterday, so carry the water, in which I 
boiled them to the trough." Red-Cap carried until the 
great trough was quite full. Then the smell of the sausages 
reached the wolf, and he sniffed and peeped down, and at 
last stretched out his neck so far that he could no longer 
keep his footing and began to slip, and slipped down from 
the roof into the great trough, and was drowned. But Red- 
Cap went joyously home, and never did anything to harm 
any one. 

THE* BREMEN TOWN-MUSICIANS 

A CERTAIN man had a donkey, which had carried the corn- 
sacks to the mill indefatigably for many a long year; but 
his strength was going, and he was growing more and more 
unfit for work. Then his master began to consider how he 
might best save his keep; but the donkey, seeing that no 
good wind was blowing, ran away and set out on the road 
to Bremen. "There," he thought, "I can surely be town- 
musician." When he had walked some distance, he found 
a hound lying on the road, gasping like one who had run 
till he was tired. "What are you gasping so for, you big 
fellow?" asked the donkey. 

"Ah," replied the hound, "as I am old, and daily grow 
weaker, and no longer can hunt, my master wanted to kill 
me, so I took to flight ; but now how am I to earn my bread ?" 

"I tell you what," said the donkey, "I am going to Bremen, 
and shall be town-musician there; go with me and engage 



GRIMM'S TALES 121 

yourself also as a musician. I will play the lute, and you 
shall beat the kettledrum." 

The hound agreed, and on they went. 

Before long they came to a cat, sitting on the path, with a 
face like three rainy days! "Now then, old shaver, what 
has gone askew with you?" asked the donkey. 

"Who can be merry when his neck is in danger?" an- 
swered the cat. "Because I am now getting old, and my 
teeth are worn to stumps, and I prefer to sit by the fire and 
spin, rather than hunt about after mice, my mistress wanted 
to drown me, so I ran away. But now good advice is scarce. 
Where am I to go?" 

"Go with us to Bremen. You understand night-music, so 
you can be a town-musician." 

The cat thought well of it, and went with them. After 
this the three fugitives came to a farm-yard, where the cock 
was sitting upon the gate, crowing with all his might. "Your 
crow goes through and through one," said the donkey. 
"What is the matter?" 

"I have been foretelling fine weather, because it is the 
day on which Our Lady washes the Christ-child's little 
shirts, and wants to dry them," said the cock; "but guests 
are coming for Sunday, so the housewife has no pity, and 
has told the cook that she intends to eat me in the soup 
to-morrow, and this evening I am to have my head cut off. 
Now I am crowing at full pitch while I can." 

"Ah, but red-comb," said the donkey, "you had better come 
away with us. We are going to Bremen; you can find 
something better than death everywhere : you have a good 
voice, and if we make music together it must have some 
quality !" 

The cock agreed to this plan, and all four went on to- 
gether. They could not, however, reach the city of Bremen 
in one day, and in the evening they came to a forest where 
they meant to pass the night. The donkey and the hound 
laid themselves down under a large tree, the cat and the 
cock settled themselves in the branches; but the cock flew 
right to the top, where he was most safe. Before he went 
to sleep he looked round on all the four sides, and thought 
he saw in the distance a little spark burning; so he called 



122 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

out to his companions that there must be a house not far 
off, for he saw a light. The donkey said, "If so, we had 
better get up and go on, for the shelter here is bad." The 
hound thought that a few bones with some meat on would 
do him good too! 

So they made their way to the place where the light was, 
and soon saw it shine brighter and grow larger, until they 
came to a well-lighted robber's house. The donkey, as the 
biggest, went to the window and looked in. 

"What do you see, my grey-horse ?" asked the cock. "What 
do I see ?" answered the donkey ; "a table covered with good 
things to eat and drink, and robbers sitting at it enjoying 
themselves." "That would be the sort of thing for us," said 
the cock. "Yes, yes ; ah, how I wish we were there !" said 
the donkey. 

Then the animals took counsel together how they should 
manage to drive away the robbers, and at last they thought 
of a plan. The donkey was to place himself with his fore- 
feet upon the window-ledge, the hound was to jump on the 
donkey's back, the cat was to climb upon the dog, and lastly 
the cock was to fly up and perch upon the head of the cat. 

When this was done, at a given signal, they began to per- 
form their music together: the donkey brayed, the hound 
barked, the cat mewed, and the cock crowed; then they 
burst through the window into the room, so that the glass 
clattered ! At this horrible din, the robbers sprang up, think- 
ing no otherwise than that a ghost had come in, and fled in 
a great fright out into the forest. The four companions 
now sat down at the table, well content with what was left, 
and ate as if they were going to fast for a month. 

As soon as the four minstrels had done, they put out the 
light, and each sought for himself a sleeping-place according 
to his nature and to what suited him. The donkey laid him- 
self down upon some straw in the yard, the hound behind 
the door, the cat upon the hearth near the warm ashes, and 
the cock perched himself upon a beam of the roof; and being 
tired with their long walk, they soon went to sleep. 

When it was past midnight, and the robbers saw from 
afar that the light was no longer burning in their house, 
and all appeared quiet, the captain said, "We ought not to 



GRIMM'S TALES 123 

have let ourselves be frightened out of our wits;" and 
ordered one of them to go and examine the house. 

The messenger finding all still, went into the kitchen to 
light a candle, and, taking the glistening fiery eyes of the 
cat for live coals, he held a lucifer-match to them to light it. 
But the cat did not understand the joke, and flew in his 
face, spitting and scratching. He was dreadfully frightened, 
and ran to the back-door, but the dog, who lay there, sprang 
up and bit his leg; as he ran across the yard by the straw- 
heap, the donkey gave him a smart kick with its hind foot. 
The cock, too, who had been awakened by the noise, and 
had become lively, cried down from the beam, "Cock-a- 
doodle-doo !" 

Then the robber ran back as fast as he could to his 
captain, and said, "Ah, there is a horrible witch sitting in 
the house, who spat on me and scratched my face with her 
long claws ; and by the door stands a man with a knife, who 
stabbed me in the leg; and in the yard there lies a black 
monster, who beat me with a wooden club ; and above, upon 
the roof, sits the judge, who called out, 'Bring the rogue 
here to me !' so I got away as well as I could." 

After this the robbers did not trust themselves in the 
house again; but it suited the four musicians of Bremen so 
well that they did not care to leave it any more. And the 
mouth of him who last told this story is still warm. 



THE GIRL WITHOUT HANDS 

A CERTAIN miller had little by little fallen into poverty, 
and had nothing left but his mill and a large apple-tree be- 
hind it. Once when he had gone into the forest to fetch 
wood, an old man stepped up to him whom he had never 
seen before, and said, " Why dost thou plague thyself with 
cutting wood, I will make thee rich, if thou wilt promise me 
what is standing behind the mill ? " " What can that be but 
my apple-tree?" thought the miller, and said, "Yes," and 
gave a written promise to the stranger. He, however, laughed 
mockingly and said, " When three years have passed, I will 
come and carry away what belongs to me," and then he went. 



124 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

When the miller got home, his wife came to meet him and 
said, " Tell me, miller, from whence comes this sudden wealth 
into our house? All at once every box and chest was filled; 
no one brought it in, and I know not how it happened." He 
answered, " It comes from a stranger who met me in the 
forest, and promised me great treasure. I, in return, have 
promised him what stands behind the mill ; we can very well 
give him the big apple-tree for it." " Ah, husband," said the 
terrified wife, " that must have been the devil ! He did not 
mean the apple-tree, but our daughter, who was standing 
behind the mill sweeping the yard." 

The miller's daughter was a beautiful, pious girl, and 
lived through the three years in the fear of God and without 
sin. When therefore the time was over, and the day came 
when the Evil-one was to fetch her, she washed herself clean, 
and made a circle round herself with chalk. The devil ap- 
peared quite early, but he could not come near to her. An- 
grily, he said to the miller, " Take all water away from her, 
that she may no longer be able to wash herself, for othei;wise 
I have no power over her." The miller was afraid, and did 
so. The next morning the devil came again, but she had 
wept on her hands, and they were quite clean. Again he 
could not get near her, and furiously said to the miller, " Cut 
her hands off, or else I cannot get the better of her." The 
miller was shocked and answered, " How could I cut off my 
own child's hands?" Then the Evil-one threatened him and 
said, "If thou dost not do it thou art mine, and I will take 
thee myself." The father became alarmed, and promised to 
obey him. So he went to the girl and said, " My child, if I 
do not cut off both thine hands, the devil will carry me away, 
and in my terror I have promised to do it. Help me in my 
need, and forgive me the harm I do thee." She replied, 
" Dear father, do with me what you will, I am your child." 
Thereupon she laid down both her hands, and let them be 
cut off. The devil came for the third time, but she had wept 
so long and so much on the stumps, that after all they were 
quite clean. Then he had to give in, and had lost all right 
over her. 

The miller said to her, " I have by means of thee received 
such great wealth that I will keep thee most delicately as 



GRIMM'S TALES 125 

long as thou livest." But she replied, " Here I cannot stay, 
I will go forth, compassionate people will give me as much 
as I require." Thereupon she caused her maimed arms to 
be bound to her back, and by sunrise she set out on her way, 
and walked the whole day until night fell. Then she came 
to a royal garden, and by the shimmering of the moon she 
saw that trees covered with beautiful fruits grew in it, but she 
could not enter, for there was much water round about it. And 
as she had walked the whole day and not eaten one mouthful, 
and hunger tormented her, she thought, " Ah, if I were but 
inside, that I might eat of the fruit, else must I die of hun- 
ger ! " Then she knelt down, called on God the Lord, and 
prayed. And suddenly an angel came towards her, who 
made a dam in the water, so that the moat became dry and 
she could walk through it. And now she went into the 
garden and the angel went with her. She saw a tree covered 
with beautiful pears, but they were all counted. Then she 
went to them, and to still her hunger, ate one with her 
mouth from the tree, but no more. The gardener was watch- 
ing; but as the angel was standing by, he was afraid and 
thought the maiden was a spirit and was silent, neither did 
he dare to cry out, or to speak to the spirit. When she had 
eaten the pear, she was satisfied, and went and concealed 
herself among the bushes. The King to whom the garden 
belonged, came down to it the next morning, and counted, 
and saw that one of the pears was missing, and asked the 
gardener what had become of it, as it was not lying beneath 
the tree, but was gone. Then answered the gardener, " Last 
night, a spirit came in, who had no hands, and ate off one of 
the pears with its mouth." The King said, "How did the 
spirit get over the water, and where did it go after it had 
eaten the pear ? " The gardener answered, " Some one came 
in a snow-white garment from heaven who made a dam, 
and kept back the water, that the spirit might walk through 
the moat. And as it must have been an angel, I was afraid, 
and asked no questions, and did not cry out. When the 
spirit had eaten the pear, it went back again." The King 
said, " If it be as thou say est, I will watch with thee to-night." 
When it grew dark the King came into the garden and 
brought a priest with him, who was to speak to the spirit. 



126 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

All three seated themselves beneath the tree and watched. 
At midnight the maiden came creeping out of the thicket, 
went to the tree, and again ate one pear off it with her mouth, 
and beside her stood the angel in white garments. Then the 
priest went out to them and said, " Comest thou from heaven 
or from earth ? Art thou a spirit, or a human being ? " She 
replied, "I am no spirit, but an unhappy mortal deserted by 
all but God." The King said, "If thou art forsaken by all 
the world, yet will I not forsake thee." He took her with 
him into his royal palace, and as she was so beautiful and 
good, he loved her with all her heart, had silver hands made 
for her, and took her to wife. 

After a year the King had to take the field, so he com- 
mended his young Queen to the care of his mother and said, 
"If she is brought to bed take care of her, nurse her well, 
and tell me of it at once in a letter." Then she gave birth to 
a fine boy. So the old mother made haste to write and an- 
nounce the joyful news to him. But the messenger rested 
by a brook on the way, and as he was fatigued by the great 
distance, he fell asleep. Then came the Devil, who was 
always seeking to injure the good Queen, and exchanged the 
letter for another, in which was written that the Queen had 
brought a monster into the world. When the King read the 
letter he was shocked and much troubled, but he wrote in 
answer that they were to take great care of the Queen and 
nurse her well until his arrival. The messenger went back 
with the letter, but rested at the same place and again fell 
asleep. Then came the Devil once more, and put a different 
letter in his pocket, in which it was written that they were 
to put the Queen and her child to death. The old mother 
was terribly shocked when she received the letter, and could 
not believe it. She wrote back again to the King, but re- 
ceived no other answer, because each time the Devil substi- 
tuted a false letter, and in the last letter it was also written 
that she was to receive the Queen's tongue and eyes as a 
token that she had obeyed. 

But the old mother wept to think such innocent blood was 
to be shed, and had a hind brought by night and cut out her 
tongue and eyes, and kept them. Then said she to the Queen, 
" I cannot have thee killed as the King commands, but here 



GRIMM'S TALES 127 

thou mayst stay no longer. Go forth into the wide world 
with thy child, and never come here again." The poor woman 
tied her child on her back, and went away with eyes full of 
tears. She came into a great wild forest, and then she fell 
on her knees and prayed to God, and the angel of the Lord 
appeared to her and led her to a little house on which was a 
sign with the words, "Here all dwell free." A snow-white 
maiden came out of the little house and said, ^'Welcome, Lady 
Queen," and conducted her inside. Then they unbound the 
little boy from her back, and held him to her breast that he 
might feed, and then laid him in a beautifully-made little 
bed. Then said the poor woman, "From whence knowest 
thou that I was a queen?" The white maiden answered, "I 
am an angel sent by God, to watch over thee, and thy child." 
The Queen stayed seven years in the little house, and was 
well cared for, and by God's grace, because of her piety, her 
hands which had been cut off, grew once more. 

At last the King came home again from the war, and his 
first wish was to see his wife and the child. Then his aged 
mother began to weep, and said, "Thou wicked man, why 
didst thou write to me that I was to take those two innocent 
lives?" and she showed him the two letters which the Evil- 
one had forged, and then continued, "I did as thou badest 
me," and she showed the tokens, the tongue and eyes. Then 
the King began to weep for his poor wife and his little son so 
much more bitterly than she was doing, that the aged mother 
had compassion on him and said, "Be at peace, she still lives ; I 
secretly caused a hind to be killed, and took these tokens from 
it; but I bound the child to thy wife's back and bade her go 
forth into the wide world, and made her promise never to 
come back here again, because thou wert so angry with her." 
Then spake the King, "I will go as far as the sky is blue, and 
will neither eat nor drink until I have found again my dear 
wife and my child, if in the meantime they have not been 
killed, nor died of hunger." 

Thereupon the King travelled about for seven long years, 
and sought her in every cleft of the rocks and in every cave, 
but he found her not, and thought she had died of want. 
During the whole of this time he neither ate nor drank, but 
God supported him. At length he came to a great forest, 



128 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

and found therein the little house whose sign was, "Here all 
dwell free." Then forth came the white maiden, took him by 
the hand, led him in, and said, "Welcome, Lord King," and 
asked him from whence he came. He answered, "Soon shall 
I have travelled about for the space of seven years, and I seek 
my wife and her child, but cannot find them." The angel 
offered him meat and drink, but he did not take anything, and 
only wished to rest a little. Then he lay down to sleep, and 
put a handkerchief over his face. 

Thereupon the angel went into the chamber where the 
Queen sat with her son, whom she usually called "Sorrowful," 
and said to her, "Go out with thy child, thy husband hath 
come." So she went to the place where he lay, and the hand- 
kerchief fell from his face. Then said she, "Sorrowful, pick 
up thy father's handkerchief, and cover his face again." The 
child picked it up, and put it over his face again. The King 
in his sleep heard what passed, and had pleasure in letting the 
handkerchief fall once more. But the child grew impatient, 
and said, "Dear mother, how can I cover my father's face 
when I have no father in this world ? I have learnt to say the 
prayer, 'Our Father, which art in Heaven,' thou hast told me 
that my father was in Heaven, and was the good God, and 
how can I know a wild man like this ? He is not my father." 
When the King heard that, he got up, and asked who they 
were. Then said she, "I am thy wife, and that is thy son. 
Sorrowful." And he saw her living hands, and said, "My 
wife had silver hands." She answered, "The good God has 
caused my natural hands to grow again ;" and the angel went 
into the inner room, and brought the silver hands, and showed 
them to him. Hereupon he knew for a certainty that it was 
his dear wife and his dear child, and he kissed them, and was 
glad, and said, "A heavy stone has fallen from off my heart." 
Then the angel of God gave them one meal with her, and 
after that they went home to the King's aged mother. There 
were great rejoicings everywhere, and the King and Queen 
were married again, and lived contentedly to their happy end. 



GRIMM'S TALES 129 



CLEVER ELSIE 

There was once a man who had a daughter who was 
called Clever Elsie. And when she had grown up her father 
said, " We will get her married." " Yes," said the mother, 
" if only any one would come who would have her." At 
length a man came from a distance and wooed her, who 
was called Hans; but he stipulated that Clever Elsie should 
be really wise. " Oh," said the father, " she's sharp enough ;" 
and the mother said, " Oh, she can see the wind coming 
up the street, and hear the flies coughing." " Well," said 
Hans, "if she is not really wise, I won't have her." When 
they were sitting at dinner and had eaten, the mother said, 
" Elsie, go into the cellar and fetch some beer." Then 
Clever Elsie took the pitcher from the wall, went into the 
cellar, and tapped the lid briskly as she went that the time 
might not appear long. When she was below she fetched 
herself a chair, and set it before the barrel so that she had 
no need to stoop, and did not hurt her back or do herself 
any unexpected injury. Then she placed the can before her, 
and turned the tap, and while the beer was running she 
would not let her eyes be idle, but looked up at the wall, 
and after much peering here and there, saw a pick-axe 
exactly above her, which the masons had accidentally left 
there. 

Then Clever Elsie began to weep and said, "If I get 
Hans, and we have a child, and he grows big, and we send 
him into the cellar here to draw beer, then the pick-axe 
will fall on his head and kill him." Then she sat and wept 
and screamed with all the strength of her body, over the 
misfortune which lay before her. Those upstairs waited 
for the drink, but Clever Elsie still did not come. Then 
the woman said to the servant, "Just go down into the 
cellar and see where Elsie is." The maid went and found 
her sitting in front of the barrel, screaming loudly. " Elsie, 
why weepest thou?" asked the maid. "Ah," she answered, 
"have I not reason to weep? If I get Hans, and we have 
a child, and he grows big, and has to draw beer here, the 
pick-axe will perhaps fall on his head, and kill him." Then 



130 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

said the maid, " What a clever Elsie we have ! " and sat 
down beside her and began loudly to weep over the mis- 
fortune. After a while, as the maid did not come back, 
and those upstairs were thirsty for the beer, the man said 
to the boy, "J"st go down into the cellar and see where 
Elsie and the girl are." The boy went down, and there 
sat Clever Elsie and the girl both weeping together. Then 
he asked, " Why are ye weeping? " "Ah," said Elsie, " have 
I not reason to weep? If I get Hans, and we have a child, 
and he grows big, and has to draw beer here, the pick-axe 
will fall on his head and kill him." Then said the boy, 
" What a clever Elsie we have ! " and sat down by her, and 
likewise began to howl loudly. Upstairs they waited for 
the boy, but as he still did not return, the man said to the 
woman, "Just go down into the cellar and see where Elsie 
is ! " The woman went down, and found all three in the 
midst of their lamentations, and inquired what was the 
cause; then Elsie told her also that her future child was 
to be killed by the pick-axe, when it grew big and had to 
draw beer, and the pick-axe fell down. Then said the 
mother likewise, " What a clever Elsie we have ! " and sat 
down and wept with them. The man upstairs waited a short 
time, but as his wife did not come back and his thirst grew 
ever greater, he said, " I must go into the cellar myself and 
see where Elsie is." But when he got into the cellar, and they 
were all sitting together crying, and he heard the reason, 
and that Elsie's child was the cause, and that Elsie might 
perhaps bring one into the world some day, and that it 
might be killed by the pick-axe, if it should happen to be 
sitting beneath it, drawing beer just at the very time when 
it fell down, he cried, "Oh, what a clever Elsie!" and sat 
down, and likewise wept with them. The bridegroom stayed 
upstairs alone for a long time; then as no one would come 
back he thought, "They must be waiting for me below; 
I too must go there and see what they are about." When 
he got down, five of them were sitting screaming and 
lamenting quite piteously, each out-doing the other. "What 
misfortune has happened then?" asked he. "Ah, dear Hans," 
said Elsie, " if we marry each other and have a child, and 
he is big, and we perhaps send him here to draw something 



GRIMM'S TALES 131 

to drink, then the pick-axe which has been left up there 
might dash his brains out if it were to fall down, so have 
we not reason to weep ? " " Come," said Hans, " more under- 
standing than this is not needed for my household, as thou 
art such a clever Elsie, I will have thee," and he seized 
her hand, took her upstairs with him, and married her. 

After Hans had had her some time, he said, "Wife, I 
am going out to work and earn some money for us; go into 
the field and cut the corn that we may have some bread." 
"Yes, dear Hans, I will do that." After Hans had gone 
away, she cooked herself some good broth and took it into 
the field with her. When she came to the field she said to 
herself, "What shall I do; shall I shear first, or shall I eat 
first? Oh, I will eat first." Then she emptied her basin 
of broth, and when she was fully satisfied, she once more 
said, "What shall I do? Shall I shear first, or shall I sleep 
first? I will sleep first." Then she lay down among the 
corn and fell asleep. Hans had been at home for a long 
time, but Elsie did not come; then said he, "What a clever 
Elsie I have; she is so industrious that she does not even 
come home to eat." As, however, she still stayed away, 
and it was evening, Hans went out to see what she had cut, 
but nothing was cut, and she was lying among the corn 
asleep. Then Hans hastened home and brought a fowler's 
net with little bells and hung it round about her, and she 
still went on sleeping. Then he ran home, shut the house- 
door, and sat down in his chair and worked. At length, 
when it was quite dark, Clever Elsie awoke and when she 
got up there was a jingling all round about her, and the 
bells rang at each step which she took. Then she was 
alarmed, and became uncertain whether she really was 
Clever Elsie or not, and said, "Is it I, or is it not I?" 
But she knew not what answer to make to this, and stood 
for a time in doubt ; at length she thought, " I will go home 
and ask if it be I, or if it be not I, they will be sure to 
know." She ran to the door of her own house, but it was 
shut; then she knocked at the window and cried, "Hans, 
is Elsie within ? " " Yes," answered Hans, " she is within." 
Hereupon she was terrified, and said, "Ah, heavens ! Then 
it is not I," and went to another door; but when the people 



132 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

heard the jingling of the bells they would not open it, and 
she could get in nowhere. Then she ran out of the village, 
and no one has seen her since. 



THUMBLING 

There was once a poor peasant who sat in the evening 
by the hearth and poked the fire, and his wife sat and span. 
Then said he, " How sad it is that we have no children ! 
With us all is so quiet, and in other houses it is noisy and 
lively." 

"Yes," replied the wife, and sighed, "even if we had 
only one, and it were quite small, and only as big as a 
thumb, I should be quite satisfied, and we would still love 
it with all our hearts." Now it so happened that the woman 
fell ill, and after seven months gave birth to a child, that 
was perfect in all its limbs, but no longer than a thumb. 
Then said they, "It is as we wished it to be, and it shall 
be our dear child ; " and because of its size, they called it 
Thurhbling. They did not let it want for food, but the child 
did not grow taller, but remained as it had been at the 
first; nevertheless it looked sensibly out of its eyes, and 
soon showed itself to be a wise and nimble creature, for 
everything it did turned out well. 

One day the peasant was getting ready to go into the 
forest to cut wood, when he said as if to himself, " How 
I wish that there was any one who would bring the cart to 
me ! " "Oh, father," cried Thumbling, "I will soon bring 
the cart, rely on that; it shall be in the forest at the 
appointed time." The man smiled and said, " How can 
that be done, thou art far too small to lead the horse by 
the reins?" "That's of no consequence, father, if my 
mother will only harness it, I will sit in the horse's ear, 
and call out to him how he is to go." "Well," answered 
the man, "for once we will try it." 

When the time came, the mother harnessed the horse, 
and placed Thumbling in its ear, and then the little creature 
cried " Gee up, gee up ! " 

Then it went quite properly as if with its master, and 



GRIMM'S TALES 133 

the cart went the right way into the forest. It so happened 
that just as he was turning a corner, and the little one 
was crying " Gee up," two strange men came towards him. 
" My word ! " said one of them. " What is this ? There is 
a cart coming, and a driver is calling to the horse, and 
still he is not to be seen ! " " That can't be right," said 
the other, " we will follow the cart and see where it stops." 
The cart, however, drove right into the forest, and exactly 
to the place where the wood had been cut. When Thumbling 
saw his father, he cried to him, " Seest thou, father, here 
I am with the cart; now take me down." The father got 
hold of the horse with his left hand, and with the right 
took his little son out of the ear. Thumbling sat down 
quite merrily on a straw, but when the two strange men 
saw him, they did not know what to say for astonishment. 
Then one of them took the other aside and said, " Hark, 
the little fellow would make our fortune if we exhibited 
him in a large town, for money. We will buy him." They 
went to the peasant and said, "Sell us the little man. He 
shall be well treated with us." "No," replied the father, 
'* he is the apple of my eye, and all the money in the world 
cannot buy him from me." Thumbling, however, when he 
heard of the bargain, had crept up the folds of his father's 
coat, placed himself on his shoulder, and whispered in his 
ear, " Father, do give me away, I will soon come back again." 
Then the father parted with him to the two men for a 
handsome bit of money. " Where wilt thou sit ? " they said 
to him. " Oh, just set me on the rim of your hat, and then 
I can walk backwards and forwards and look at the country, 
and still not fall down." They did as he wished, and when 
Thumbling had taken leave of his father, they went away 
with him. They walked until it was dusk, and then the 
little fellow said, " Do take me down, I want to come down." 
The man took his hat off, and put the little fellow on the 
ground by the wayside, and he leapt and crept about a little 
between the sods, and then he suddenly slipped into a 
mouse-hole which he had sought out. " Good evening, gen- 
tlemen, just go home without me," he cried to them, and 
mocked them. They ran thither and stuck their sticks into 
the mouse-hole, but it was all lost labour. Thumbling crept 

HO XVII— I 



134 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

still farther in, and as it soon became quite dark, they were 
forced to go home with their vexation and their empty 
purses. 

When Thumbling saw that they were gone, he crept 
back out of the subterranean passage. " It is so dangerous 
to walk on the ground in the dark," said he ; " how easily 
a neck or a leg is broken ! " Fortunately he knocked against 
an empty snail-shell. " Thank God ! " said he. " In that I 
can pass the night in safety," and got into it. Not long 
afterwards, when he was just going to sleep, he heard two 
men go by, and one of them was saying, " How shall we 
contrive to get hold of the rich pastor's silver and gold ? " 
" I could tell thee that," cried Thumbling, interrupting them. 
"What was that?" said one of the thieves in a fright, 
" I heard some one speaking." They stood still listening, 
and Thumbling spoke again, and said, " Take me with you, 
and I'll help you." 

" But where art thou ? " " Just look on the ground, and 
observe from whence my voice comes," he replied. There 
the thieves at length found him, and lifted him up. " Thou 
little imp, how wilt thou help us?" they said. "A great 
deal," said he, " I will creep into the pastor's room through 
the iron bars, and will reach out to you whatever you 
want to have." " Come then," they said, " and we will see 
what thou canst do." When they got to the pastor's 
house, Thumbling crept into the room, but instantly cried 
out with all his might, " Do you want to have everything 
that is here ? " The thieves were alarmed, and said, " But do 
speak softly, so as not to waken any one ! " Thumbling, 
however, behaved as if he had not understood this, and 
cried again, **What do you want? Do you want to have 
everything that is here ? " The cook, who slept in the next 
room, heard this and sat up in bed, and listened. The 
thieves, however, had in their fright run some distance 
away, but at last they took courage, and thought, " The 
little rascal wants to mock us." They came back and 
whispered to him, " Come, be serious, and reach something 
out to us." Then Thumbling again cried as loudly as he 
could, " I really will give you everything, only put your 
hands in." The maid who was listening, heard this quite 



GRIMM'S TALES 135 

distinctly, and jumped out of bed and rushed to the door. 
The thieves took flight, and ran as if the Wild Huntsman 
were behind them, but as the maid could not see anything, 
she went to strike a light. When she came to the place 
with it, Thumbling, unperceived, betook himself to the 
granary, and the maid, after she had examined every corner 
and found nothing, lay down in her bed again, and believed 
that, after all, she had only been dreaming with open eyes 
and ears. 

Thumbling had climbed up among the hay and found a 
beautiful place to sleep in; there he intended to rest until 
day, and then go home again to his parents. But he had 
other things to go through. Truly there is much affliction 
and misery in this world! When day dawned, the maid 
arose from her bed to feed the cows. Her first walk was 
into the barn, where she laid hold of an armful of hay, 
and precisely that very one in which poor Thumbling was 
lying asleep. He, however, was sleeping so soundly that 
he was aware of nothing, and did not awake until he was 
in the mouth of a cow, who had picked him up with the 
hay. " Ah, heavens ! " cried he, *' how have I got into the 
fulling mill ? " but he soon discovered where he was. Then 
it was necessary to be careful not to let himself go between 
the teeth and be dismembered, but he was nevertheless 
forced to slip down into the stomach with the hay. "In 
this little room the windows are forgotten," said he, "and 
no sun shines in, neither will a candle be brought." His 
quarters were especially unpleasing to him, and the worst 
was, more and more hay was always coming in by the door, 
and the space grew less and less. Then, at length in his 
anguish, he cried as loud as he could, " Bring me no more 
fodder, bring me no more fodder." The maid was just 
milking the cow, and when she heard some one speaking, 
and saw no one, and perceived that it was the same voice 
that she had heard in the night, she was so terrified that 
she slipped off her stool, and spilt the milk. She ran in 
the greatest haste to her master, and said, "Oh, heavens, 
pastor, the cow has been speaking ! " " Thou art mad," 
replied the pastor; but he went himself to the byre to see 
what was there. Hardly, however, had he set his foot 



136 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

inside than Thumbling again cried, " Bring me no more 
fodder, bring me no more fodder." Then the pastor him- 
self was alarmed, and thought that an evil spirit had gone 
into the cow, and ordered her to be killed. She was killed, 
but the stomach, in which Thumbling was, was thrown on 
the midden. Thumbling had great difficulty in working his 
way; however, he succeeded so far as to get some room, 
but, just as he was going to thrust his head out, a new 
misfortune occurred. A hungry wolf ran thither, and 
swallowed the whole stomach at one gulp. Thumbling did 
not lose courage. " Perhaps," thought he, " the wolf will 
listen to what I have got to say," and he called to him 
from out of his stomach, " Dear wolf, I know of a magnifi- 
cent feast for thee." 

" Where is it to be had ? " said the wolf. 

" In such and such a house ; thou must creep into it through 
the kitchen-sink, and wilt find cakes, and bacon, and sausages, 
and as much of them as thou canst eat," and he described 
to him exactly his father's house. The wolf did not require 
to be told this twice, squeezed himself in at night through 
the sink, and ate to his heart's content in the larder. When 
he had eaten his fill, he wanted to go out again, but he had 
become so big that he could not go out by the same way. 
Thumbling had reckoned on this, and now began to make 
a violent noise in the wolf's body, and raged and screamed 
as loudly as he could. " Wilt thou be quiet," said the wolf, 
*' thou wilt waken up the people ! " " Eh, what," replied the 
little fellow, " thou hast eaten thy fill, and I will make merry 
likewise," and began once more to scream with all his 
strength. At last his father and mother were aroused by 
it, and ran to the room and looked in through the opening 
in the door. When they saw that a wolf was inside, they 
ran away, and the husband fetched his axe, and the wife 
the scythe. " Stay behind," said the man, when they entered 
the room. "When I have given him a blow, if he is not 
killed by it, thou must cut him down and hew his body to 
pieces." Then Thumbling heard his parents' voices, and 
cried, " Dear father, I am here ; I am in the wolf's body.'* 
Said the father, full of joy, " Thank God, our dear child has 
found us again," and bade the woman take away her scythe. 



GRIMM'S TALES 137 

that Thumbling might not be hurt with it. After that he 
raised his arm, and struck the wolf such a blow on his head 
that he fell down dead, and then they got knives and scissors 
and cut his body open, and drew the little fellow forth. 
" Ah," said the father, *' what sorrow we have gone through 
for thy sake." " Yes, father, I have gone about the world 
a great deal. Thank heaven, I breathe fresh air again ! " 
" Where hast thou been, then ? " "Ah, father, I have been 
in a mouse's hole, in a cow's stomach, and then in a wolf's; 
now I will stay with you." "And we will not sell thee again, 
no, not for all the riches in the world," said his parents, 
and they embraced and kissed their dear Thumbling. They 
gave him to eat and to drink, and had some new clothes 
made for him, for his own had been spoiled on his journey. 



THUMBLING AS JOURNEYMAN 

A CERTAIN tailor had a son, who happened to be small, and 
no bigger than a Thumb, and on this account he was always 
called Thumbling. He had, however, some courage in him, 
and said to his father, " Father, I must and will go out into 
the world." "Thafs right, my son," said the old man, and took 
a long darning-needle and made a knob of sealing-wax on it 
at the candle, " and there is a sword for thee to take with thee 
on the way." Then the little tailor wanted to have one more 
meal with them, and hopped into the kitchen to see what his 
lady mother had cooked for the last time. It was, however, 
just dished up, and the dish stood on the hearth. Then he 
said, "Mother, what is there to eat to-day ?" "See for thyself," 
said his mother. So Thumbling jumped on to the hearth, and 
peeped into the dish, but as he stretched his neck in too far the 
steam from the food caught hold of him, and carried him up 
the chimney. He rode about in the air on the steam for a 
while, until at length he sank down to the ground again. Now 
the little tailor was outside in the wide world, and he travelled 
about, and went to a master in his craft, but the food was not 
good enough for him. "Mistress, if you give us no better 
food," said Thumbling, "I will go away and early to-morrow 
morning I will write with chalk on the door of your house, 



138 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

*Too many potatoes, too little meat! Farewell, Mr. Potato- 
King?" "What wouldst thou have forsooth, a grasshopper?" 
said the mistress, and grew angry, and seized a dish-cloth, 
and was just going to strike him; but my little tailor crept 
nimbly under the thimble, peeped out from beneath it, and put 
his tongue out at the mistress. She took up the thimble, and 
wanted to get hold of him, but little Thumbling hopped into 
the cloth, and while the mistress was opening it out and look- 
ing for him, he got into a crevice in the table. "Ho, ho, lady 
mistress," cried he, and thrust his head out, and when she 
began to strike him he leapt down into the drawer. At last, 
however, she caught him and drove him out of the house. 

The little tailor journeyed on and came to a great forest, 
and there he fell in with a band of robbers who had a design 
to steal the King's treasure. When they saw the little tailor, 
they thought, "A little fellow like that can creep through a 
key-hole and serve as a picklock to us." "Hollo," cried one 
of them, "thou giant Goliath, wilt thou go to the treasure- 
chamber with us? Thou canst slip thyself in and throw out 
the money." Thumbling reflected a while, and at length he 
said "yes," and went with them to the treasure-chamber. 
Then he looked at the doors above and below, to see if there 
was any crack in them. It was not long before he espied one 
which was broad enough to let him in. He was therefore 
about to get in at once, but one of the two sentries who stood 
before the door, observed him, and said to the other, "What 
an ugly spider is creeping there ; I will kill it." "Let the poor 
creature alone," said the other, "it has done thee no harm." 
Then Thumbling got safely through the crevice into the 
treasure-chamber, opened the window beneath which the rob- 
bers were standing, and threw out to them one thaler after 
another. When the little tailor was in the full swing of his 
work, he heard the King coming to inspect his treasure- 
chamber, and crept hastily into a hiding-place. The King 
noticed that several solid thalers were missing, but could not 
conceive who could have stolen them, for locks and bolts were 
in good condition, and all seemed well guarded. Then he went 
away again, and said to the sentries, "Be on the watch, some 
one is after the money." When therefore Thumbling recom- 
menced his labours, they heard the money moving, and a 



GRIMM'S TALES 139 

sound of klink, klink, klink. They ran swiftly in to seize the 
thief, but the little tailor, who heard them coming, was still 
swifter, and leaped into a corner and covered himself with a 
thaler, so that nothing could be seen of him, and at the same 
time he mocked the sentries and cried, "Here am I !" The 
sentries ran thither, but as they got there, he had already 
hopped into another corner under a thaler, and was crying, 
"Ho, ho, here am I !" The watchmen sprang there in haste, 
but Thumbling had long ago got into a third corner, and was 
crying, "Ho, ho, here am I !" And thus he made fools of 
them, and drove them so long round about the treasure-cham- 
ber that they were weary and went away. Then by degrees 
he threw all the thalers out, despatching the last with all his 
might, then hopped nimbly upon it, and flew down with it 
through the window. The robbers paid him great compli- 
ments. "Thou art a valiant hero," said they ; "wilt thou be 
our captain ?" 

Thumbling, however, declined, and said he wanted to see the 
world first. They now divided the booty, but the little tailor 
only asked for a kreuzer because he could not carry more. 

Then he once more buckled on his sword, bade the robbers 
good-bye, and took to the road. First, he went to work with 
some masters, but he had no liking for that, and at last he 
hired himself as man-servant in an inn. The maids, however, 
could not endure him, for he saw all that they did secretly, 
without their seeing him, and he told their master and mis- 
tress what they had taken off the plates, and carried away 
out of the cellar, for themselves. Then said they, " Wait, 
and we will pay thee off ! " and arranged with each other to 
play him a trick. Soon afterwards when one of the maids 
was mowing in the garden, and saw Thumbling jumping about 
and creeping up and down the plants, she mowed him up 
quickly with the grass, tied all in a great cloth, and secretly 
threw it to the cows. Now amongst them there was a great 
black one, who swallowed him down with it without hurting 
him. Down below, however, it pleased him ill, for it was 
quite dark, neither was any candle burning. When the cow 
was being milked he cried, 

Strip, strap, strull, 

Will the pail soon be full?" 



140 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

But' the noise of the milking prevented his being understood. 
After this the master of the house came into the cow-byre 
and said, "That cow shall be killed to-morrow." Then 
Thumbling was so alarmed that he cried out in a clear voice, 
" Let me out first, for I am shut up inside her." The master 
heard that quite well, but did not know from whence the voice 
came. " Where art thou ? " asked he. " In the black one," 
answered Thumbling, but the master did not understand what 
that meant, and went out. 

Next morning the cow was killed. Happily Thumbling did 
not meet with one blow at the cutting up and chopping ; he 
got among the sausage-meat. And when the butcher came in 
and began his work, he cried out with all his might, " Don't 
chop too deep, don't chop too deep, I am amongst it." No 
one heard this because of the noise of the chopping-knife. 
Now poor Thumbling was in trouble, but trouble sharpens the 
wits, and he sprang out so adroitly between the blows that 
none of them touched him, and he got out with a whole skin. 
But still he could not get away, there was nothing for it, and 
he had to let himself be thrust into a black-pudding with the 
bits of bacon. His quarters there were rather confined, and 
besides that he was hung up in the chimney to be smoked, and 
there time did hang terribly heavy on his hands. 

At length in winter he was taken down again, as the black- 
pudding had to be set before a guest. When the hostess was 
cutting it in slices, he took care not to stretch out his head 
too far lest a bit of it should be cut off; at last he saw his 
opportunity, cleared a passage for himself, and jumped out. 

The little tailor, however, would not stay any longer in a 
house where he fared so ill, but at once set out on his journey 
again. But his liberty did not last long. In the open coun- 
try he met with a fox who snapped him up in a fit of absence. 
" Hollo, Mr. Fox," cried the little tailor, " it is I who am 
sticking in your throat, set me at liberty again." " Thou art 
right," answered the fox. " Thou art next to nothing for me, 
but if thou wilt promise me the fowls in thy father's yard I 
will let thee go." " With all my heart," replied Thumbling. 
" Thou shalt have all the cocks and hens, that I promise thee." 
Then the fox let him go again, and himself carried him home. 
When the father once more saw his dear son, he willingly 



GRIMM'S TALES 141 

gave the fox all the fowls which he had. " For this I likewise 
bring thee a handsome bit of money," said Thumbling, and 
gave his father the kreuzer which he had earned on his 
travels. 

" But why did the fox get the poor chicken to eat ? " 
" Oh, you goose, your father would surely love his child far 
more than the fowls in the yard 1 " 



THE SIX SWANS 

Once upon a time, a certain King was hunting in a great 
forest, and he chased a wild beast so eagerly that none of 
his attendants could follow him. When evening drew near 
he stopped and looked around him, and then he saw that 
he had lost his way. He sought a way out, but could find 
none. Then he perceived an aged woman with a head 
which nodded perpetually, who came towards him, but she 
was a witch. " Good woman," said he to her, " can you not 
show me the way through the forest?" "Oh,, yes, Lord 
King," she answered, "that I certainly can, but on one 
condition, and if you do not fulfil that, you will never get 
out of the forest and will die of hunger in it." 

"What kind of condition is it?" asked the King. 

"I have a daughter," said the old woman, "who is as 
beautiful as any one in the world, and well deserves to be 
your consort, and if you will make her your Queen, I ^yill 
show you the way out of the forest." In the anguish of 
his heart the King consented, and the old woman led him 
to her little hut, where her daughter was sitting by the 
fire. She received the King as if she had been expecting 
him, and he saw that she was very beautiful, but still she 
did not please him, and he could not look at her without 
secret horror. After he had taken the maiden up on his 
horse, the old woman showed him the way, and the King 
reached his royal palace again, where the wedding was 
celebrated. 

The King had already been married once, and had by 
his first wife, seven children, six boys and a girl, whom he 
loved better than anything else in the world. As he now 



142 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

feared that the step-mother might not treat them well, 
and even do them some injury, he took them to a lonely- 
castle which stood in the midst of a forest. It lay so con- 
cealed, and the way was so difficult to find, that he himself 
would not have found it, if a wise woman had not given 
him a ball of yarn with wonderful properties. When he 
threw it down before him, it unrolled itself and showed 
him his path. The King, however, went so frequently 
away to his dear children that the Queen observed his 
absence; she was curious and wanted to know what he 
did when he was quite alone in the forest. She gave a great 
deal of money to his servants, and they betrayed the secret 
to her, and told her likewise of the ball which alone could 
point out the way. And now she knew no rest until she 
had learnt where the King kept the ball of yarn, and then 
she made little shirts of white silk, and as she had learnt 
the art of witchcraft from her mother, she sewed a charm 
inside them. And once when the King had ridden forth 
to hunt, she took the little shirts and went into the forest, 
and the ball showed her the way. The children, who saw 
from a distance that some one was approaching, thought 
that their dear father was coming to them, and full of joy, 
ran to meet him. Then she threw one of the little shirts 
over each of them, and no sooner had the shirts touched 
their bodies than they were changed into swans, and flew 
away over the forest. The Queen went home quite delighted, 
and thought she had got rid of her step-children, but the 
girl had not run out with her brothers, and the Queen knew 
nothing about her. Next day the King went to visit his 
children, but he found no one but the little girl. "Where 
are thy brothers?" asked the King. "Alas, dear father," 
she answered, "they have gone away and left me alone !" 
and she told him that she had seen from her little window 
how her brothers had flown away over the forest in the 
shape of swans, and she showed him the feathers, which 
they had let fall in the courtyard, and which she had 
picked up. The King mourned, but he did not think that 
the Queen had done this wicked deed, and as he feared 
that the girl would also be stolen away from him, he wanted 
to take her away with him. But she was afraid of her step- 



GRIMM'S TALES 143 

mother, and entreated the King to let her stay just this one 
night more in the forest castle. 

The poor girl thought, " I can no longer stay here. I 
will go and seek my brothers." And when night came, 
she ran away, and went straight into the forest. She walked 
the whole night long, and next day also without stopping, 
until she could go no farther for weariness. Then, she saw 
a forest-hut, and went into it, and found a room with six 
little beds, but she did not venture to get into one of them, 
but crept under one, and lay down on the hard ground, in- 
tending to pass the night there. Just before sunset, however, 
she heard a rustling, and saw six swans come flying in at 
the window. They alighted on the ground and blew at 
each other, and blew all the feathers off, and their swan's 
skins stripped off like a shirt. Then the maiden looked at 
them and recognized her brothers, was glad and crept forth 
from beneath the bed. The brothers were not less de- 
lighted to see their little sister, but their joy was of short 
duration. " Here canst thou not abide," they said to her. 
" This is a shelter for robbers, if they come home and find 
thee, they will kill thee." " But can you not protect me ?" 
asked the little sister. " No," they replied, " only for one 
quarter of an hour each evening can we lay aside our 
swan's skin and have during that time our human form, after 
that, we are once more turned into swans." The little sister 
wept and said, "Can you not be set free?" "Alas, no," 
they answered, " the conditions are too hard ! For six years 
thou mayest neither speak nor laugh, and in that time thou 
must sew together six little shirts of starwort for us. And 
if one single word falls from thy lips all thy work will be 
lost." And when the brothers had said this, the quarter 
of an hour was over, and they flew out of the window again 
as swans. 

The maiden, however, firmly resolved to deliver her 
brothers, even if it should cost her her life. She left the 
hut, went into the midst of the forest, seated herself on 
a tree, and there passed the night. Next morning she went 
out and gathered starwort and began to sew. She could 
not speak to any one, and she had no inclination to laugh; 
she sat there and looked at nothing but her work. When 



144 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

she had already spent a long time there it came to pass 
that the King of the country was hunting in the forest, 
and his huntsmen come to the tree on which the maiden 
was sitting. They called to her and said, ** Who art thou ?" 
But she made no answer. " Come down to us," said they. 
" We will not do thee any harm." She only shook her head. 
As they pressed her further with questions she threw her 
golden necklace down to them, and thought to content them 
thus. They, however, did not cease, and then she threw 
her girdle down to them, and as this also was to no pur- 
pose, her garters, and by degrees everything that she had 
on that she could do without until she had nothing left 
but her shift. The huntsmen, however, did not let them- 
selves be turned aside by that, but climbed the tree and 
fetched the maiden down and led her before the King. 
The King asked, " Who art thou ? What art thou doing on 
the tree?" But she did not answer. He put the question 
in every language that he knew, but she remained as mute 
as a fish. As she was so beautiful, the King's heart was 
touched, and he was smitten with a great love for her. 
He .put his mantle on her, took her before him on his 
horse, and carried her to his castle. Then he caused her to 
be dressed in rich garments, and she shone in her beauty 
like bright daylight, but no word could be drawn from her. 
He placed her by his side at table, and her modest bearing 
and courtesy pleased him so much that he said, " She is 
the one whom I wish to marry, and no other woman in the 
world." And after some days he united himself -to her. 

The King, however, had a wicked mother who was dis- 
satisfied with this marriage and spoke ill of the young 
Queen. " Who knows," said she, " from whence the creature 
who can't speak, comes? She is not worthy of a king!" 
After a year had passed, when the Queen brought her 
first child into the world, the old woman took it away from 
her, and smeared her mouth with blood as she slept. Then 
she went to the King and accused the Queen of being a 
man-eater. The King would not believe it, and would not 
suffer any one to do her any injury. She, however, sat 
continually sewing at the shirts, and cared for nothing 
else. The next time, when she again bore a beautiful boy, 



GRIMM'S TALES 145 

the false step-mother used the same treachery, but the King 
could not brhig himself to give credit to her words. He 
said, " She is too pious and good to do anything of that 
kind; if she were not dumb, and could defend herself, her 
innocence would come to light." But when the old woman 
stole away the newly-born child for the third time, and ac- 
cused the Queen, who did not utter one word of defence, 
the King could do no otherwise than deliver her over to 
justice, and she was sentenced to suffer death by fire. 

When the day came for the sentence to be executed, it was 
the last day of the six years during which she was not 
to speak or laugh, and she had delivered her dear brothers 
from the power of the enchantment. The six shirts were 
ready, only the left sleeve of the sixth was wanting. When, 
therefore, she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on 
her arm, and when she stood on high and the fire was just 
going to be lighted, she look around and six swans came 
flying through the air towards her. Then she saw that her 
deliverance was near, and her heart leapt with joy. The 
swans swept towards her and sank down so that she could 
throw the shirts over them, and as they were touched by 
them, their swan's skins fell off, and her brothers stood in 
their own bodily form before her, and were vigorous and 
handsome. The youngest only lacked his left arm, and 
had in the place of it a swan's wing on his shoulder. They 
embraced and kissed each other, and the Queen went to 
the King, who was greatly moved, and she began to speak 
and said, " Dearest husband, now I may speak and declare 
to thee that I am innocent, and falsely accused." And she 
told him of the treachery of the old woman who had taken 
away her three children and hidden them. Then to the 
great joy of the King they were brought thither, and as a 
punishment, the wicked step-mother was bound to the 
stake, and burnt to ashes. But the King and the Queen 
with their six brothers lived many years in happiness and 
peace. 



146 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 



LITTLE BRIAR-ROSE 



A LONG time ago there were a King and Queen who said 
every day, " Ah, if only we had a child ! " but they never had 
one. But it happened that once when the Queen was bath- 
ing, a frog crept out of the water on to the land, and said to 
her, "Your wish shall be fulfilled; before a year has gone 
by you shall have a daughter." 

What the frog had said came true, and the Queen had a 
little girl who was so pretty that the King could not contain 
himself for joy, and ordered a great feast. He invited not 
only his kindred, friends and acquaintance, but also the 
Wise Women, in order that they might be kind and well- 
disposed towards the child. There were thirteen of them 
in his kingdom, but as he had only twelve golden plates for 
them to eat out of, one of them had to be left at home. 

The feast was held with all manner of splendour, and 
when it came to an end the Wise Women bestowed their 
magic gifts upon the baby: one gave virtue, another beauty, 
a third riches, and so on with everything in the world that 
one can wish for. 

When eleven of them had made their promises, suddenly 
the thirteenth came in. She wished to avenge herself for 
not having been invited, and without greeting, or even 
looking at any one, she cried with a loud voice, " The King's 
daughter shall in her fifteenth year prick herself with a 
spindle, and fall down dead." And, without saying a word 
more, she turned round and left the room. 

They were all shocked; but the twelfth, whose good wish 
still remained unspoken, came forward, and as she could 
not undo the evil sentence, but only soften it, she said, 
" It shall not be death, but a deep sleep of a hundred years, 
into which the princess shall fall," 

The King, who would fain keep his dear child from the 
misfortune, gave orders that every spindle in the whole 
kingdom should be burnt. Meanwhile the gifts of the Wise 
Women were plenteously fulfilled on the young girl, for 
she was so beautiful, modest, good-natured, and wise, that 
every one who saw her was bound to love her. 



GRIMM'S TALES 147 

It happened that on the very day when she was fifteen 
years old the King and Queen were not at home, and the 
maiden was left in the palace quite alone. So she went 
round into all sorts of places, looked into rooms and bed- 
chambers just as she liked, and at last came to an old 
tower. She climbed up the narrow winding-staircase, and 
reached a little door. A rusty key was in the lock, and 
when she turned it the door sprang open, and there in a 
little room sat an old woman with a spindle, busily spin- 
ning her flax. 

" Good day, old dame," said the King's daughter ; " what 
are you doing there ? " "I am spinning," said the old woman, 
and nodded her head. " What sort of thing is that, that 
rattles round so merrily?" said the girl, and she took the 
spindle and wanted to spin too. But scarcely had she 
touched the spindle when the magic decree was fulfilled, and 
she pricked her finger with it. 

And, in the very moment when she felt the prick, she 
fell down upon the bed that stood there, and lay in a deep 
sleep. And this sleep extended over the whole palace; the 
King and Queen who had just come home, and had entered 
the great hall, began to go to sleep, and the whole court with 
them. The horses, too, went to sleep in the stable, the 
dogs in the yard, the pigeons upon the roof, the flies on the 
wall; even the fire that was flaming on the hearth became 
quiet and slept, the roast meat left off frizzling, and the 
cook, who was just going to pull the hair of the scullery 
boy, because he had forgotten something, let him go, and 
went to sleep. And the wind fell, and on the trees before 
the castle not a leaf moved again. 

But round about the castle there began to grow a hedge 
of thorns, which every year became higher, and at last 
grew close up around the castle and all over it, so that 
there was nothing of it to be seen, not even the flag upon 
the roof. But the story of the beautiful sleeping " Briar- 
rose," for so the princess was named, went about the coun- 
try, so that from time to time kings' sons came and tried to 
get through the thorny hedge into the castle. 

But they found it impossible, for the thorns held fast to- 
gether, as if they had hands, and the youths were caught 



148 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

in them, could not get loose again, and died a miserable 
death. 

After long, long years a King's son came again to that 
country, and heard an old man talking about the thorn- 
hedge, and that a castle was said to stand behind it in which 
a wonderfully beautiful princess, named Briar-rose, had 
been asleep for a hundred years; and that the King and 
Queen and the whole court were asleep likewise. He had 
heard, too, from his grandfather, that many kings' sons had 
already come, and had tried to get through the thorny hedge, 
but they had remained sticking fast in it, and had died 
a pitiful death. Then the youth said, " I am not afraid, I 
will go and see the beautiful Briar-rose." The good old 
man might dissuade him as he would, he did not listen to 
his words. 

But by this time the hundred years had just passed, and 
the day had come when Briar-rose was to awake again. 
When the King's son came near to the thorn-hedge, it was 
nothing but large and beautiful flowers, which parted from 
each other of their own accord, and let him pass unhurt, 
then they closed again behind him like a hedge. In the 
castle-yard he saw the horses and the spotted hounds lying 
asleep; on the roof sat the pigeons with their heads under 
their wings. And when he entered the house, the flies were 
asleep upon the wall, the cook in the kitchen was still hold- 
ing out his hand to seize the boy, and the maid was sitting 
by the black hen which she was going to pluck. 

He went on farther, and in the great hall he saw the whole 
of the court lying asleep, and up by the throne lay the King 
and Queen. 

Then he went on still farther, and all was so quiet that a 
breath could be heard, and at last he came to the tower, 
and opened the door into the little room where Briar-rose 
was sleeping. There she lay, so beautiful that he could 
not turn his eyes away; and he stooped down and gave 
her a kiss. But as soon as he kissed her. Briar-rose 
opened her eyes and awoke, and looked at him quite 
sweetly. 

Then they went down together, and the King awoke, and 
the Queen, and the whole court, and looked at each other 



GRIMM'S TALES 149 

in great astonishment. And the horses in the courtyard 
stood up and shook themselves; the hounds jumped up and 
wagged their tails; the pigeons upon the roof pulled out 
their heads from under their wings, looked round, and flew 
into the open country; the flies on the wall crept again; the 
fire in the kitchen burned up and flickered and cooked the 
meat; the joint began to turn and frizzle again, and the 
cook gave the boy such a box on the ear that he screamed, 
and the maid plucked the fowl ready for the spit. 

And then the marriage of the King's son with Briar-rose 
was celebrated with all splendour, and they lived contented 
to the end of their days. 



FUNDEVOGEL 

There was once a forester who went into the forest to 
hunt, and as he entered it he heard a sound of screaming 
as if a little child were there. He followed the sound, and 
at last came to a high tree, and at the top of this a little 
child was sitting, for the mother had fallen asleep under the 
tree with the child, and a bird of prey had seen it in her 
arms, had flown down, snatched it away, and set it on the 
high tree. 

The forester climbed up, brought the child down, and 
thought to himself, " Thou wilt take him home with thee, 
and bring him up with thy Lina." He took it home, there- 
fore, and the two children grew up together. The one, how- 
ever, which he had found on a tree was called Fundevogel, 
because a bird had carried it away. Fundevogel and Lina 
loved each other so dearly that when they did not see each 
other they were sad. 

The forester, however, had an old cook, who one evening 
took two pails and began to fetch water, and did not go 
once only, but many times, out to the spring. Lina saw this 
and said, " Hark you, old Sanna, why are you fetching so 
much water ? " " If thou wilt never repeat it to any one, 
I will tell thee why." So Lina said, no, she would never 
repeat it to any one, and then the cook said, " Early to- 

^ I. e.. Bird-foundling. 

HO xvn— J 



150 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

morrow morning, when the forester is out hunting, I will 
heat the water, and when it is boiling in the kettle, I will 
throw in Fundevogel, and will boil him in it." 

Betimes next morning the forester got up and went out 
hunting, and when he was gone the children were still in 
bed. Then Lina said to Fundevogel, " If thou wilt never 
leave me, I too will never leave thee." Fundevogel said, 
" Neither now, nor ever will I leave thee." Then said Lina, 
" Then will I tell thee. Last night, old Sanna carried so 
many buckets of water into the house that I asked her why 
she was doing that, and she said that if I would promise 
not to tell any one she would tell me, and I said I would 
be sure not to tell any one, and she said that early to-morrow 
morning when father was out hunting, she would set on the 
kettle full of water, throw thee into it and boil thee; but 
we will get up quickly, dress ourselves, and go away 
together." 

The two children therefore got up, dressed themselves 
quickly, and went away. When the water in the kettle was 
boiling, the cook went into the bed-room to fetch Funde- 
vogel and throw him into it. But when she came in, and 
went to the beds, both the children were gone. Then she 
was terribly alarmed, and she said to herself, "What shall 
I say now when the forester comes home and sees that the 
children are gone? They must be followed instantly to get 
them back again." 

Then the cook sent three servants after them, who were 
to run and overtake the children. The children, however, 
were sitting outside the forest, and when they saw from afar 
the three servants running, Lina said to Fundevogel, " Never 
leave me, and I will never leave thee." Fundevogel said, 
" Neither now, nor ever." Then said Lina, " Do thou be- 
come a rose-tree, and I the rose upon it." When the three 
servants came to the forest, nothing was there but a rose- 
tree and one rose on it, but the children were nowhere. 
Then said they, "There is nothing to be done here," and 
they went home and told the cook that they had seen nothing 
in the forest but a little rose-bush with one rose on it. Then 
the old cook scolded and said, " You simpletons, you should 
have cut the rose-bush in two, and have broken off the rose 



GRIMM'S TALES 151 

and brought it home with you ; go, and do it at once." They 
had therefore to go out and look for the second time. The 
children, however, saw them coming from a distance. Then 
Lina said, " Fundevogel, never leave me and I will never 
leave thee." Fundevogel said, " Neither now, nor ever." 
Said Lina, " Then do thou become a church, and I'll be the 
chandelier in it." So when the three servants came, nothing 
was there but a church, with a chandelier in it. They said 
therefore to each other, " What can we do here, let us go 
home." When they got home, the cook asked if they had 
not found them ; so they said no, they had found nothing but 
a church, and that there was a chandelier in it. And the 
cook scolded them and said, " You fools ! why did you not 
pull the church to pieces, and bring the chandelier home with 
you ? " And now the old cook herself got on her legs, and 
went with the three servants in pursuit of the children. The 
children, however, saw from afar that the three servants 
were coming, and the cook waddling after them. Then said 
Lina, " Fundevogel, never leave me, and I will never leave 
thee." Then said Fundevogel, " Neither now, nor ever." 
Said^Lina, " Be a fishpond, and I will be the duck upon it." 
The cook, however, came up to them, and when she saw 
the pond she lay down by it, and was about to drink it up. 
But the duck swam quickly to her, seized her head in its 
beak and drew her into the water, and there the old witch 
had to drown. Then the children went home together and 
were heartily delighted, and if they are not dead, they are 
living still. 

KING THRUSHBEARD 

A KING had a daughter who was beautiful beyond all 
measure, but so proud and haughty withal that no suitor was 
good enough for her. She sent away one after the other, 
and ridiculed them as well. 

Once the King made a great feast and invited thereto, 
from far and near, all the young men likely to marry. They 
were all marshalled in a row according to their rank and 
standing ; first came the kings, then the grand-dukes, then the 
princes, the earls, the barons, and the gentry. Then the 



152 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

King's daughter was led through the ranks, but to every one 
she had some objection to make; one was too fat, "The 
wine-cask," she said. Another was too tall, "Long and 
thin has little in." The third was too short, " Short and 
thick is never quick." The fourth was too pale, " As pale as 
death." The fifth too red, "A fighting-cock." The sixth 
was not straight enough, "A green log dried behind the 
stove." 

So she had something to say against every one, but she 
made herself especially merry over a good king who stood 
quite high up in the row, and whose chin had grown a little 
crooked. " Well," she cried and laughed, " he has a chin 
like a thrush's beak ! " and from that time he got the name 
of King Thrushbeard. 

But the old King, when he saw that his daughter did 
nothing but mock the people, and despised all the suitors 
who were gathered there, was very angry, and swore that 
she should have for her husband the very first beggar that 
came to his doors. 

A few days afterwards a fiddler came and sang beneath 
the windows, trying to earn a small alms. When the JCing 
heard him he said, " Let him come up." So the fiddler came 
in, in his dirty, ragged clothes, and sang before the King 
and his daughter, and when he had ended he asked for a 
trifling gift. The King said, " Your song has pleased me 
so well that I will give you my daughter there, to wife." 

The King's daughter shuddered, but the King said, "I 
have taken an oath to give you to the very first beggarman, 
and I will keep it." All she could say was in vain; the 
priest was brought, and she had to let herself be wedded to 
the fiddler on the spot. When that was done the King said, 
" Now it is not proper for you, a beggar-woman, to stay any 
longer in my palace, you may just go away with your 
husband." 

The beggar-man led her out by the hand, and she was 
obliged to walk away on foot with him. When they came 
to a large forest she asked, " To whom does that beautiful 
forest belong?" "It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if you 
had taken him, it would have been yours." " Ah, unhappy 
girl that I am, if I had but taken King Thrushbeard ! " 



GRIMM'S TALES 153 

Afterwards they came to a meadow, and she asked again, 
"To whom does this beautiful green meadow belong?" 
" It belongs to King Thrushbeard ; if you had taken him, it 
would have been yours." " Ah, unhappy girl that I am, if 
I had but taken King Thrushbeard ! " 

Then they came to a large town, and she asked again, 
" To whom does this fine large town belong ? " " It belongs 
to King Thrushbeard ; if you had taken him, it would have 
been yours." " Ah, unhappy girl that I am, if I had but 
taken King Thrushbeard ! " 

" It does not please me," said the fiddler, " to hear you 
always wishing for another husband; am I not good enough 
for you?" At last they came to a very Httle hut, and she 
said, " Oh, goodness ! what a small house ; to whom does 
this miserable, mean hovel belong ? " The fiddler answered, 
" That is my house and yours, where we shall live together." 

She had to stoop in order to go in at the low door. 
" Where are the servants ? " said the King's daughter. 
"What servants?" answered the beggar-man; "you must 
yourself do what you wish to have done. Just make a fire 
at once, and set on water to cook my supper, I am quite 
tired." But the King's daughter knew nothing about lighting 
fires or cooking, and the beggar-man had to lend a hand 
himself to get anything fairly done. When they had finished 
their scanty meal they went to bed; but he forced her to 
get up quite early in the morning in order to look after the 
house. 

For a few days they lived in this way as well as might be, 
and finished all their provisions. Then the man said, " Wife, 
we cannot go on any longer eating and drinking here and 
earning nothing. You must weave baskets." He went out, 
cut some willows, and brought them home. Then she began 
to weave, but the tough willows wounded her delicate 
hands. 

"I see that this will not do," said the man; "you had 
better spin, perhaps you can do that better." She sat down 
and tried to spin, but the hard thread soon cut her soft fin- 
gers so that the blood ran down. " See," said the man, 
"you are fit for no sort of work; I have made a bad bar- 
gain with you. Now I will try to make a business with 



154 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

pots and earthenware; you must sit in the market-place 
and sell the ware." " Alas," thought she, " if any of the 
people from my father's kingdom come to the market and 
see me sitting there, selling, how they will mock me ! " But 
it was of no use, she had to yield unless she chose to die of 
hunger. 

For the first time she succeeded well, for the people were 
glad to buy the woman's wares because she was good-look- 
ing, and they paid her what she asked; many even gave her 
the money and left the pots with her as well. So they lived 
on what she had earned as long as it lasted, then the husband 
bought a lot of new crockery. With this she sat down at 
the corner of the market-place, and set it out round about 
her ready for sale. But suddenly there came a drunken 
hussar galloping along, and he rode right amongst the pots 
so that they were all broken into a thousand bits. She 
began to weep, and did not know what to do for fear. 
" Alas ! what will happen to me ? " cried she ; " what will 
my husband say to this?'* 

She ran home and told him of the misfortune. " Who 
would seat herself at a corner of the market-place with 
crockery ? " said the man ; " leave off crying, I see very well 
that you cannot do any ordinary work, so I have been to 
our King's palace and have asked whether they cannot find 
a place for a kitchen-maid, and they have promised me to 
take you; in that way you will get your food for nothing." 

The King's daughter was now a kitchen-maid, and had to 
be at the cook's beck and call, and do the dirtiest work. In 
both her pockets she fastened a little jar, in which she took 
home her share of the leavings, and upon this they lived. 

It happened that the wedding of the King's eldest son 
was to be celebrated, so the poor woman went up and placed 
herself by the door of the hall to look on. When all the 
candles were lit, and people, each more beautiful than the 
other, entered, and all was full of pomp and splendour, she 
thought of her lot with a sad heart, and cursed the pride 
and haughtiness which had humbled her and brought her 
to so great poverty. 

The smell of the delicious dishes which were being taken 
in and out reached her, and now and then the servants threw 



GRIMM'S TALES 155 

her a few morsels of them: these she put in her jars to 
take home. 

All at once the King's son entered, clothed in velvet and 
silk, with gold chains about his neck. And when he saw 
the beautiful woman standing by the door he seized her 
by the hand, and would have danced with her; but she 
refused and shrank with fear, for she saw that it was King 
Thrushbeard, her suitor whom she had driven away with 
scorn. Her struggles were of no avail, he drew her into 
the hall; but the string by which her pockets were hung 
broke, the pots fell down, the soup ran out, and the scraps 
were scattered all about. And when the people saw it, there 
arose general laughter and derision, and she was so ashamed 
that she would rather have been a thousand fathoms below 
the ground. She sprang to the door and would have run 
away, but on the stairs a man caught her and brought her 
back ; and when she looked at him it was King Thrushbeard 
again. He said to her kindly, " Do not be afraid, I and the 
fiddler who has been living with you in that wretched hovel 
are one. For love of you I disguised myself so ; and I also 
was the hussar who rode through your crockery. This was 
all done to humble your proud spirit, and to punish you for 
the insolence with which you mocked me." 

Then she wept bitterly and said, " I have done great 
wrong, and am not worthy to be your wife." But he said, 
" Be comforted, the evil days are past ; now we will cele- 
brate our wedding." Then the maids-in-waiting came and 
put on her the most splendid clothing, and her father and 
his whole court came and wished her happiness in her 
marriage with King Thrushbeard, and the joy now began 
in earnest. I wish you and I had been there too. 



LITTLE SNOW-WHITE 

Once upon a time in the middle of winter, when the flakes 
of snow were falling like feathers from the sky, a queen 
sat at a window sewing, and the frame of the window 
was made of black ebony. And whilst she was sewing and 
looking out of the window at the snow, she pricked her 



156 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell upon 
the snow. And the red looked pretty upon the white snow, 
and she thought to herself, " Would that I had a child as 
white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood 
of the window frame." 

Soon after that she had a little daughter, who was as 
white as snow, and as red as blood, and her hair was as 
black as ebony ; and she was therefore called Little Snow- 
white. And when the child was born, the Queen died. 

After a year had passed the King took to himself another 
wife. She was a beautiful woman, but proud and haughty, 
and she could not bear that any one else should surpass her 
in beauty. She had a wonderful looking-glass, and when 
she stood in front of it and looked at herself in it, and said — 

"Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall, 
Who in this land is the fairest of all?" 

the looking-glass answered — 

"Thou, O Queen, art the fairest of all!" 

Then she was satisfied, for she knew that the looking-glass 
spoke the truth. 

But Snow-white was growing up, and grew more and 
more beautiful; and when she was seven years old she was 
as beautiful as the day, and more beautiful than the Queen 
herself. And once when the Queen asked her looking-glass — 



'Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall. 
Who in this land is the fairest of all ?" 



it answered- 



"Thou art fairer than all who are here, Lady Queen, 
But more beautiful still is Snow-white, as I ween." 

Then the Queen was shocked, and turned yellow and green 
with envy. From that hour, whenever she looked at Snow- 
white, her heart heaved in her breast, she hated the girl 
so much. 

And envy and pride grew higher and higher in her heart 
like a weed, so that she had no peace day or night. She 
called a huntsman, and said, " Take the child away into the 



GRIMM'S TALES 157 

forest; I will no longer have her in my sight. Kill her, and 
bring me back her heart as a token." The huntsman 
obeyed, and took her away; but when he had drawn his 
knife, and was about to pierce Snow-white's innocent heart, 
she began to weep, and said, " Ah, dear huntsman, leave 
me my life ! I will run away into the wild forest and never 
come home again." 

And as she was so beautiful the huntsman had pity on 
her and said, " Run away, then, you poor child." " The 
wild beasts will soon have devoured you," thought he, and 
yet it seemed as if a stone had been rolled from his heart 
since it was no longer needful for him to kill her. And as 
a young boar just then came running by he stabbed it and 
cut out its heart and took it to the Queen as a proof that 
the child was dead. The cook had to salt this, and the 
wicked Queen ate it, and thought she had eaten the heart 
of Snow-white. 

But now the poor child was all alone in the great forest, 
and so terrified that she looked at every leaf of every tree, 
and did not know what to do. Then she began to run, and 
ran over sharp stones and through thorns, and the wild 
beasts ran past her, but did her no harm. 

She ran as long as her feet would go until it was almost 
evening; then she saw a little cottage and went into it to 
rest herself. Everything in the cottage was small, but 
neater and cleaner than can be told. There was a table on 
which was a white cover, and seven little plates, and on 
each plate a little spoon; moreover, there were seven little 
knives and forks, and seven little mugs. Against the wall 
stood seven little beds side by side, and covered with snow- 
white counterpanes. 

Little Snow-white was so hungry and thirsty that she 
ate some vegetables and bread from each plate and drank 
a drop of wine out of each mug, for she did not wish to 
take all from one only. Then, as she was so tired, she laid 
herself down on one of the little beds, but none of them 
suited her; one was too long, another too short, but at last 
she found that the seventh one was right, and so she re- 
mained in it, said a prayer and went to sleep. 

When it was quite dark the owners of the cottage came 



158 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

back; they were seven dwarfs who dug and delved in the 
mountains for ore. They lit their seven candles, and as it 
was now light within the cottage they saw that some one 
had been there, for everything was not in the same order 
in which they had left it. 

The first said, " Who has been sitting on my chair ? " 
The second, " Who has been eating off my plate ? " 
The third, " Who has been taking some of my bread ? " 
The fourth, " Who has been eating my vegetables ? " 
The fifth, "Who has been using my fork ? " 
The sixth, " Who has been cutting with my knife ? " 
The seventh, " Who has been drinking out of my mug ? " 
Then the first looked round and saw that there was a little 
hole on his bed, and he said, " Who has been getting into 
my bed ? " The others came up and each called out, " Some- 
body has been lying in my bed too." But the seventh when 
he looked at his bed saw little Snow-white, who was lying 
asleep therein. And he called the others, who came running 
up, and they cried put with astonishment, and brought their 
seven little candles and let the light fall on little Snow-white. 
" Oh, heavens ! oh, heavens ! " cried they, " what a lovely 
child ! " and they were so glad that they did not wake her 
up, but let her sleep on in the bed. And the seventh dwarf 
slept with his companions, one hour with each, and so got 
through the night. 

When it was morning little Snow-white awoke, and was 
frightened when she saw the seven dwarfs. But they were 
friendly and asked her what her name was. " My name 
is Snow-white," she answered. " How have you come to 
our house ? " said the dwarfs. Then she told them that her 
step-mother had wished to have her killed, but that the 
huntsman had spared her life, and that she had run for the 
whole day, until at last she had found their dwelling. The 
dwarfs said, " If you will take care of our house, cook, make 
the beds, wash, sew, and knit, and if you will keep everything 
neat and clean, you can stay with us and you shall want for 
nothing." "Yes," said Snow-white, "with all my heart," 
and she stayed with them. She kept the house in order for 
them; in the mornings they went to the mountains and 
looked for copper and gold, in the evenings they came back, 



GRIMM'S TALES 159 

and then their supper had to be ready. The girl was alone 
the whole day, so the good dwarfs warned her and said, 
" Beware of your step-mother, she will soon know that you 
are here ; be sure to let no one come in." 

But the Queen, believing that she had eaten Snow-white's 
heart, could not but think that she was again the first and 
most beautiful of all; and she went to her looking-glass 
and said — 

"Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall, 
Who in this land is the fairest of all?" 

and the glass answered — 

"Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see, 
But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell. 
Snow-white is still alive and well, 
And none is so fair as she." 

Then she was astounded, for she knew that the looking- 
glass never spoke falsely, and she knew that the huntsman 
had betrayed her, and that little Snow-white was still alive. 

And so she thought and thought again how she might 
kill her, for so long as she was not the fairest in the whole 
land, envy let her have no rest. And when she had at last 
thought of something to do, she painted her face, and 
dressed herself like an old pedler-woman, and no one 
could have known her. In this disguise she went over the 
seven mountains to the seven dwarfs, and knocked at the 
door and cried, " Pretty things to sell, very cheap, very 
cheap." Little Snow-white looked out of the window and 
called out, " Good-day, my good woman, what have you to 
sell ? " " Good things, pretty things," she answered ; " stay- 
laces of all colours," and she pulled out one which was 
woven of bright-coloured silk. " I may let the worthy old 
woman in," thought Snow-white, and she unbolted the door 
and bought the pretty laces. " Child," said the old woman, 
" what a fright you look ; come, I will lace you properly for 
once." Snow-white had no suspicion, but stood before her, 
and let herself be laced with the new laces. But the old 
woman laced so quickly and laced so tightly that Snow-white 
lost her breath and fell down as if dead. " Now I am the 
most beautiful," said the Queen to herself, and ran away. 



160 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

Not long afterwards, in the evening, the seven dwarfs 
came home, but how shocked they were when they saw 
their dear little Snow-white lying on the ground, and that 
she neither stirred nor moved, and seemed to be dead. They 
lifted her up, and, as they saw that she was laced too 
tightly, they cut the laces ; then she began to breathe a little, 
and after a while came to life again. When the dwarfs 
heard what had happened they said, " The old pedler-woman 
was no one else than the wicked Queen; take care and let 
no one come in when we are not with you." 

But the wicked woman when she had reached home went 
in front of the glass and asked — 

"Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall, 
Who in this land is the fairest of all ?" 

and it answered as before — 

"Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see, 
But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell. 
Snow-white is still alive and well. 
And none is so fair as she." 

When she heard that, all her blood rushed to her heart 
with fear, for she saw plainly that little Snow-white was 
again alive. " But now," she said, " I will think of some- 
thing that shall put an end to you," and by the help of 
witchcraft, which she understood, she made a poisonous 
comb. Then she disguised herself and took the shape of 
another old woman. So she went over the seven mountains 
to the seven dwarfs, knocked at the door, and cried, " Good 
things to sell cheap, cheap ! " Little Snow-white looked out 
and said, " Go away ; I cannot let any one come in." " I 
suppose you can look," said the old woman, and pulled the 
poisonous comb out and held it up. It pleased the girl so 
well that she let herself be beguiled, and opened the door. 
When they had made a bargain the old woman said, " Now 
I will comb you properly for once." Poor little Snow-white 
had no suspicion, and let the old woman do as she pleased, 
but hardly had she put the comb in her hair than the poison 
in it took effect, and the girl fell down senseless. "You 
paragon of beauty," said the wicked woman, " you are done 
for now," and she went away. 



GRIMM'S TALES 161 

But fortunately it was almost evening, when the seven 
dwarfs came home. When they saw Snow-white lying as 
if dead upon the ground they at once suspected the step- 
mother, and they looked and found the poisoned comb. 
Scarcely had they taken it out when Snow-white came to 
herself, and told them what had happened. Then they 
warned her once more to be upon her guard and to open 
the door to no one. 

The Queen, at home, went in front of the glass and said — 

"Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall, 
Who in this land is the fairest of all?" 

then it answered as before — 

"Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see. 
But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell, 
Snow-white is still alive and well. 
And none is so fair as she." 

When she heard the glass speak thus she trembled and 
shook with rage, " Snow-white shall die," she cried, " even 
if it costs me my life ! '* 

Thereupon she went into a quite secret, lonely room, 
where no one ever came, and there she made a very poison- 
ous apple. Outside it looked pretty, white with a red cheek, 
so that every one who saw it longed for it ; but whoever ate 
a piece of it must surely die. 

When the apple was ready she painted her face, and 
dressed herself up as a country-woman, and so she went 
over the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs. She knocked 
at the door. Snow-white put her head out of the window 
and said, " I cannot let any one in ; the seven dwarfs have 
forbidden me." " It is all the same to me," answered the 
woman, " I shall soon get rid of my apples. There, I will 
give you one." 

" No," said Snow-white, " I dare not take anything." 
" Are you afraid of poison ? " said the old woman ; " look, 
I will cut the apple in two pieces; you eat the red cheek, 
and I will eat the white." The apple was so cunningly 
made that only the red cheek was poisoned. Snow-white 
longed for the fine apple, and when she saw that the woman 



162 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

ate part of it she could resist no longer, and stretched out 
her hand and took the poisonous half. But hardly had she 
a bit of it in her mouth than she fell down dead. Then 
the Queen looked at her with a dreadful look, and laughed 
aloud and said, " White as snow, red as blood, black 
as ebony-wood! this time the dwarfs cannot wake you 
up again." 

And when she asked of the Looking-glass at home — 

"Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall. 
Who in this land is the fairest of all?" 

it answered at last — 

"Oh, Queen, in this land thou art fairest of all." 

Then her envious heart had rest, so far as an envious heart 
can have rest. 

The dwarfs, when they came home in the evening, found 
Snow-white lying upon the ground; she breathed no longer 
and was dead. They lifted her up, looked to see whether 
they could find anything poisonous, unlaced her, combed her 
hair, washed her with water and wine, but it was all of no 
use ; the poor child was dead, and remained dead. They laid 
her upon a bier, and all seven of them sat round it and 
wept for her, and wept three days long. 

Then they were going to bury her, but she still looked 
as if she were living, and still had her pretty red cheeks. 
They said, "We could not bury her in the dark ground," 
and they had a transparent coffin of glass made, so that she 
could be seen from all sides, and they laid her in it, and 
wrote her name upon it in golden letters, and that she 
was a king's daughter. Then they put the coffin out upon 
the mountain, and one of them always stayed by it and 
watched it. And birds came too, and wept for Snow-white ; 
first an owl, then a raven, and last a dove. 

And now Snow-white lay a long, long time in the coffin, 
and she did not change, but looked as if she were asleep; 
for she was as white as snow, as red as blood, and her hair 
was as black as ebony. 

It happened, however, that a king's son came into the 
forest, and went to the dwarfs' house to spend the night. 



GRIMM'S TALES 163 

He saw the coffin on the mountain, and the beautiful Snow- 
white within it, and read what was written upon it in 
golden letters. Then he said to the dwarfs, " Let me have 
the coffin, I will give you whatever you want for it." But 
the dwarfs answered, ** We will not part with it for all the 
gold in the world." Then he said, "Let me have it as a 
gift, for I cannot live without seeing Snow-white. I will 
honour and prize her as my dearest possession." As he 
spoke in this way the good dwarfs took pity upon him, and 
gave him the coffin. 

And now the King's son had it carried away by his servants 
on their shoulders. And it happened that they stumbled 
over a tree-stump, and with the shock the poisonous piece 
of apple which Snow-white had bitten off came out of her 
throat. And before long she opened her eyes, lifted up the 
lid of the coffin, sat up, and was once more alive. " Oh, 
heavens, where am I ? " she cried. The King's son, full of 
joy, said, " You are with me," and told her what had hap- 
pened, and said, " I love you more than everything in the 
world ; come with me to my father's palace, you shall be my 
wife." 

And Snow-white was willing, and went with him, and 
their wedding was held with great show and splendour. But 
Snow-white's wicked step-mother was also bidden to the 
feast. When she had arrayed herself in beautiful clothes 
she went before the Looking-glass, and said — 

"Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall. 
Who in this land is the fairest of all?" 

the glass answered — 

"Oh, Queen, of all here the fairest art thou, 
But the young Queen is fairer by far as I trow." 

Then the wicked woman uttered a curse, and was so 
wretched, so utterly wretched, that she knew not what to 
do. At first she would not go to the wedding at all, but 
she had no peace, and must go to see the young Queen. 
And when she went in she knew Snow-white ; and she stood 
still with rage and fear, and could not stir. But iron slip- 
pers had already been put upon the fire, and they were 



164 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

brought in with tongs, and set before her. Then she was 
forced to put on the red-hot shoes, and dance until she 
dropped down dead. 



RUMPELSTILTSKIN 

Once there was a miller who was poor, but who had a 
beautiful daughter. Now it happened that he had to go 
and speak to the King, and in order to make himself appear 
important he said to him, " I have a daughter who can 
spin straw into gold." The King said to the miller, "That 
is an art which pleases me well; if your daughter is as 
clever as you say, bring her to-morrow to my palace, and 
I will try what she can do." 

And when the girl was brought to him he took her into 
a room which was quite full of straw, gave her a spinning- 
wheel and a reel, and said, " Now set to work, and if by 
to-morrow morning early you have not spun this straw into 
gold during the night, you must die." Thereupon he him- 
self locked up the room, and left her in it alone. So there 
sat the poor miller's daughter, and for her life could not tell 
what to do; she had no idea how straw could be spun into 
gold, and she grew more and more miserable, until at last 
she began to weep. 

But all at once the door opened, and in came a little man, 
and said, " Good evening. Mistress Miller ; why are you 
crying so ? " " Alas !" answered the girl, " I have to spin 
straw into gold, and I do not know how to do it." " What 
will you give me," said the manikin, "if I do it for you?" 
" My necklace," said the girl. The little man took the neck- 
lace, seated himself in front of the wheel, and " whirr, whirr, 
whirr," three turns, and the reel was full; then he put an- 
other on, and whirr, whirr, whirr, three times round, and 
the second was full too. And so it went on until the morn- 
ing, when all the straw was spun, and all the reels were full 
of gold. By daybreak the King was already there, and 
when he saw the gold he was astonished and delighted, but 
his heart became only more greedy. He had the miller's 
daughter taken into another room full of straw, which was 



GRIMM'S TALES 165 

was much larger, and commanded her to spin that also in 
one night if she valued her life. The girl knew not how 
to help herself, and was crying, when the door again opened, 
and the little man appeared, and said, " What will you give 
me if I spin the straw into gold for you?" "The ring on 
my finger," answered the girl. The little man took the ring, 
again began to turn the wheel, and by morning had spun 
all the straw into glittering gold. 

The King rejoiced beyond measure at the sight, but still 
he had not gold enough; and he had the miller's daughter 
taken into a still larger room full of straw, and said, " You 
must spin tiiis, too, in the course of this night; but if you 
succeed, you shall be my wife." "Even if she be a miller's 
daughter," thought he, "I could not find a richer wife in 
the whole world." 

When the girl was alone the manikin came again for the 
third time, and said, " What will you give me if I spin the 
straw for you this time also ?" " I have nothing left that 
I could give," answered the girl. " Then promise me, if 
you should become Queen, your first child." " Who knows 
whether that will ever happen?" thought the miller's daugh- 
ter; and, not knowing how else to help herself in this strait, 
she promised the manikin what he wanted, and for that he 
once more spun the straw into gold. 

And when the King came in the morning, and found all 
as he had wished, he took her in marriage, and the pretty 
miller's daughter became a Queen. 

A year after, she had a beautiful child, and she never 
gave a thought to the manikin. But suddenly he came 
into her room, and said, " Now give me what you promised." 
The Queen was horror-struck, and offered the manikin all 
the riches of the kingdom if he would leave her the child. 
But the manikin said, " No, something that is living is dearer 
to me than all the treasures in the world." Then the Queen 
began to weep and cry, so that the manikin pitied her. " I 
will give you three days' time," said he; "if by that time you 
find out my name, then shall you keep your child." 

So the Queen thought the whole night of all the names 
that she had ever heard, and she sent a messenger over the 
country to inquire, far and wide, for any other names that 

HO XVII — K 



166 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

there might be. When the manikin came the next day, she 
began with Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar, and said all the 
names she knew, one after another; but to every one the 
little man said, " That is not my name." On the second 
day she had inquiries made in the neighbourhood as to the 
names of the people there, and she repeated to the manikin 
the most uncommon and curious. " Perhaps your name is 
Shortribs, or Sheepshanks, or Laceleg?" but he always an- 
swered, " That is not my name." 

On the third day the messenger came back again, and said, 
" I have not been able to find a single new name, but as 
I came to a high mountain at the end of the forest, where 
the fox and the hare bid each other good night, there I 
saw a little house, and before the house a fire was burning, 
and round about the fire quite a ridiculous little man was 
jumping: he hopped upon one leg, and shouted — 

" To-day I bake, to-morrow brew. 

The next I'll have the young Queen's child. 
Ha ! glad am I that no one knew 
That Rumpelstiltskin I am styled." 

You may think how glad the Queen was when she heard 
the name! And when soon afterwards the little man came 
in, and asked, "Now Mistress Queen, what is my name?" 
at first she said, " Is your name Conrad ? " " No." " Is 
your name Harry ?" " No." 

" Perhaps your name is Rumpelstiltskin ?" 
" The devil has told you that ! the devil has told you 
that ! " cried the little man, and in his anger he plunged his 
right foot so deep into the earth that his whole leg went 
in; and then in rage he pulled at his left leg so hard with 
both hands that he tore himself in two. 



THE THREE FEATHERS 

There was once on a time a King who had three sons, of 
whom two were clever and wise, but the third did not 
speak much and was simple, and was called the Simpleton. 
When the King had become old and weak, and was thinking 



GRIMM'S TALES 167 

of his end, he did not know which of his sons should inherit 
the kingdom after him. Then he said to them, " Go forth, 
and he who brings me the most beautiful carpet shall be 
King after my death." And that there should be no dispute 
amongst them, he took them outside his castle, blew three 
feathers in the air, and said, " You shall go as they fly." One 
feather flew to the east, the other to the west, but the 
third flew straight up and did not fly far, but soon fell to 
the ground. And now one brother went to the right, and 
the other to the left, and they mocked Simpleton, who 
was forced to stay where the third feather had fallen. He 
sat down and was sad, then all at once he saw that there 
was a trap-door close by the feather. He raised it up, 
found some steps, and went down them, and then he came 
to another door, knocked at it, and heard somebody inside 
calling, 

"Little green maiden small. 

Hopping hither and thither, 

Hop to the door, 

And quickly see who is there." 

The door opened, and he saw a great, fat toad sitting, 
and round about her a crowd of little toads. The fat toad 
asked what he wanted ? He answered, " I should like to have 
the prettiest and finest carpet in the world." Then she 
called a young one and said, 

"Little green maiden small, 
Hopping hither and thither. 
Hop quickly and bring me 
The great box here." 

The young toad brought the box, and the fat toad opened 
it, and gave Simpleton a carpet out of it, so beautiful and 
so fine, that on the earth above, none could have been woven 
like it. Then he thanked her, and ascended again. The 
two others had, however, looked on their youngest brother 
as so stupid that they believed he would find and bring 
nothing at all. ** Why should we give ourselves a great 
deal of trouble to search?" said they, and got some coarse 
handkerchiefs from the first shepherds' wives whom they 
met, and carried them home to the King. At the same time 



168 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

Simpleton also came back, and brought his beautiful carpet, 
and when the King saw it he was astonished, and said, 
" If justice be done, the kingdom belongs to the youngest." 
But the two others let their father have no peace, and said 
that it was impossible that Simpleton, who in everything 
lacked understanding, should be King, and entreated him to 
make a new agreement with them. Then the father said, 
" He who brings me the most beautiful ring shall inherit 
the kingdom," and led the three brothers out, and blew into 
the air three feathers, which they were to follow. Those 
of the two eldest again went east and west, and Simpleton's 
feather flew straight up, and fell down near the door into 
the earth. Then he went down again to the fat toad, and 
told her that he wanted the most beautiful ring. She at 
once ordered her great box to be brought, and gave him 
a ring out of it, which sparkled with jewels, and was so 
beautiful that no goldsmith on earth would have been able 
to make it. The two eldest laughed at Simpleton for going 
to seek a golden ring. They gave themselves no trouble, but 
knocked the nails out of an old carriage-ring, and took 
it to the King; but when Simpleton produced his golden 
ring, his father again said, " The kingdom belongs to him." 
The two eldest did not cease from tormenting the King until 
he made a third condition, and declared that the one who 
brought the most beautiful woman home, should have the 
kingdom. He again blew the three feathers into the air, 
and they flew as before. 

Then Simpleton without more ado went down to the fat 
toad, and said, " I am to take home the most beautiful 
woman ! " " Oh," answered the toad. " the most beautiful 
woman! She is not at hand at the moment, but still thou 
shalt have her." She gave him a yellow turnip which had 
been hollowed out, to which six mice were harnessed. Then 
Simpleton said quite mournfully, " What am I to do with 
that ? " The toad answered, " Just put one of my little 
toads into it." Then he seized one at random out of the 
circle, and put her into the yellow coach, but hardly was she 
seated inside it than she turned into a wonderfully beautiful 
maiden, and the turnip into a coach, and the six mice 
into horses. So he kissed her, and drove off quickly with 



GRIMM'S TALES 169 

the horses, and took her to the King. His brothers came 
afterwards; they had given themselves no trouble at all to 
seek beautiful girls, but had brought with them the first 
peasant women they chanced to meet. When the King saw 
them he said, " After my death the kingdom belongs to my 
youngest son." But the two eldest deafened the King's 
ears afresh with their clamour, " We cannot consent to 
Simpleton's being King," and demanded that the one whose 
wife could leap through a ring which hung in the centre 
of the hall should have the preference. They thought, " The 
peasant women can do that easily; they are strong enough, 
but the delicate maiden will jump herself to death." The 
aged King agreed likewise to this. Then the two peasant 
women jumped, and jumped through the ring, but were so 
stout that they fell, and their coarse arms and legs broke 
in two. And then the pretty maiden whom Simpleton had 
brought with him, sprang, and sprang through as lightly as 
a deer, and all opposition had to cease. So he received the 
crown, and has ruled wisely for a length of time. 



THE GOLDEN GOOSE 

There was a man who had three sons, the youngest of 
whom was called Dummling,* and was despised, mocked, 
and put down on every occasion. 

It happened that the eldest wanted to go into the forest 
to hew wood, and before he went his mother gave him a 
beautiful sweet cake and a bottle of wine in order that he 
might not suffer from hunger or thirst. 

When he entered the forest there met him a little grey- 
haired old man who bade him good-day, and said, " Do 
give me a piece of cake out of your pocket, and let 
me have a draught of your wine; I am so hungry and 
thirsty.'* But the prudent youth answered, "If I give 
you my cake and wine, I shall have none for myself; 
be off with you," and he left the little man standing 
and went on. 

But when he began to hew down a tree, it was not long 

* Simpleton. 



170 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

before he made a false stroke, and the axe cut him in the 
arm, so that he had to go home and have it bound up. 
And this was the Httle grey man's doing. 

After this the second son went into the forest, and his 
mother gave him, like the eldest, a cake and a bottle of 
wine. The little old grey man met him likewise, and asked 
him for a piece of cake and a drink of wine. But the 
second son, too, said with much reason, "What I give 
you will be taken away from myself; be off!" and he left 
the little man standing and went on. His punishment, 
however, was not delayed; when he had made a few strokes 
at the tree he struck himself in the leg, so that he had to 
be carried home. 

Then Dummling said, "Father, do let me go and cut 
wood." The father answered, " Your brothers have hurt 
themselves with it, leave it alone, you do not understand 
anything about it." But Dummling begged so long that 
at last he said, "Just go then, you will get wiser by hurt- 
ing yourself." His mother gave him a cake made with 
water and baked in the cinders, and with it a bottle of 
sour beer. 

When he came to the forest the little old grey man 
met him likewise, and greeting him, said, " Give me a piece 
of your cake and a drink out of your bottle ; I am so hungry 
and thirsty." Dummling answered, " I have only cinder- 
cake and sour beer; if that pleases you, we will sit down 
and eat." So they sat down, and when Dummling pulled 
out his cinder-cake, it was a fine sweet cake, and the sour 
beer had become good wine. So they ate and drank, and 
after that the little man said, " Since you have a good 
heart, and are willing to divide what you have, I will give 
you good luck. There stands an old tree, cut it down, and 
you will find something at the roots." Then the old man 
took leave of him. 

Dummling went and cut down the tree, and when it 
fell there was a goose sitting in the roots with feathers of 
pure gold. He lifted her up, and taking her with him, 
went to an inn where he thought he would stay the night. 
Now the host had three daughters, who saw the goose 
and were curious to know what such a wonderful bird 



GRIMM'S TALES 171 

might be, and would have liked to have one of its golden 
feathers. 

The eldest thought, "I shall soon find an opportunity 
of pulling out a feather," and as soon as Dummling had 
gone out she seized the goose by the wing, but her fingers 
and hand remained sticking fast to it. 

The second came soon afterwards, thinking only of how 
she might get a feather for herself, but she had scarcely 
touched her sister than she was held fast. 

At last the third also came with the like intent, and the 
others screamed out, *' Keep away ; for goodness' sake keep 
away ! " But she did not understand why she was to keep 
away. " The others are there," she thought, " I may as 
well be there too," and ran to them; but as soon as she 
had touched her sister she remained sticking fast to her. 
So they had to spend the night with the goose. 

The next morning Dummling took the goose under his 
arm and set out, without troubling himself about the three 
girls who were hanging to it. They were obliged to run 
after him continually, now left, now right, just as he was 
inclined to go. 

In the middle of the fields the parson met them, and when 
he saw the procession he said, " For shame, you good- 
for-nothing girls, why are you running across the fields 
after this young man? is that seemly?" At the same time 
he seized the youngest by the hand in order to pull her away, 
but as soon as he touched her he likewise stuck fast, and 
was himself obliged to run behind. 

Before long the sexton came by and saw his master, the 
parson, running on foot behind three girls. He was as- 
tonished at this and called out, " Hi ! your reverence, whither 
away so quickly? do not forget that we have a christening 
to-day ! " and running after him he took him by the sleeve, 
but was also held fast to it. 

Whilst the five were trotting thus behind the other, 
two labourers came with their hoes from the fields; the 
parson called out to them and begged that they would set 
him and the sexton free. But they had scarcely touched 
the sexton when they were held fast, and now there were 
seven of them running behind Dummling and the goose. 



172 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

Soon afterwards he came to a city, where a king ruled 
who had a daughter who was so serious that no one could 
make her laugh. So he had put forth a decree that who- 
soever should be able to make her laugh should marry 
her. When Dummling heard this, he went with his goose 
and all her train before the King's daughter, and as soon 
as she saw the seven people running on and on, one behind 
the other, she began to laugh quite loudly, and as if she 
would never leave off. Thereupon Dummling asked to 
have her for his wife, and the wedding was celebrated. 
After the King's death Dummling inherited the kingdom, 
and lived a long time contentedly with his wife. 



ALLERLEIRAUH 

There was once on a time a King who had a wife with 
golden hair, and she was so beautiful that her equal was 
not to be found on earth. It came to pass that she lay ill, 
and as she felt that she must soon die, she called the King 
and said, " If thou wishest to marry again after my death, 
take no one who is not quite as beautiful as I am, and 
who has not just such golden hair as I have: this thou 
must promise me." And after the King had promised her 
this she closed her eyes and died. 

For a long time the King could not be comforted, and 
had no thought of taking another wife. At length his 
councillors said, "There is no help for it, the King must 
marry again, that we may have a Queen." And now 
messengers were sent about far and wide, to seek a bride 
who equalled the late Queen in beauty. In the whole 
world, however, none was found, and even if one had 
been found, still there would have been no one who had such 
golden hair. So the messengers came home as they went. 

Now the King had a daughter, who was just as beau- 
tiful as her dead mother, and had the same golden hair. 
When she was grown up the King looked at her one day, 
and saw that in every respect she was like his late wife, 
and suddenly felt a violent love for her. Then he spake to 
his councillors, " I will marry my daughter, for she is 



GRIMM'S TALES 173 

the counterpart of my late wife, otherwise I can find no 
bride who resembles her." When the councillors heard 
that, they were shocked, and said, " God has forbid- 
den a father to marry his daughter, no good can come 
from such a crime, and the kingdom will be involved in 
the ruin." 

The daughter was still more shocked when she became 
aware of her father's resolution, but hoped to turn him from 
his design. Then she said to him, " Before I fulfil your 
wish, I must have three dresses, one as golden as the 
sun, one as silvery as the moon, and one as bright as the 
stars; besides this, I wish for a mantle of a thousand dif- 
ferent kinds of fur and hair joined together, and one of 
every kind of animal in your kingdom must give a bit of 
his skin for it." But she thought, " To get that will be 
quite impossible, and thus I shall divert my father from his 
wicked intentions." The King, however, did not give it up, 
and the cleverest maidens in his kingdom had to weave the 
three dresses, one as golden as the sun, one as silvery as 
the moon, and one as bright as the stars, and his hunts- 
men had to catch one of every kind of animal in the whole 
of his kingdom, and take from it a piece of its skin, and out 
of these was made a mantle of a thousand different kinds 
of fur. At length, when all was ready, the King caused the 
mantle to be brought, spread it out before her, and said, 
" The wedding shall be to-morrow." 

When, therefore, the King's daughter saw that there 
was no longer any hope of turning her father's heart, she 
resolved to run away from him. In the night whilst 
every one was asleep, she got up, and took three different 
things from her treasures, a golden ring, a golden spin- 
ning-wheel, and a golden reel. The three dresses of the 
sun, moon, and stars she put into a nutshell, put on her 
mantle of all kinds of fur, and blackened her face and 
hands with soot. Then she commended herself to God, 
and went away, and walked the whole night until she 
reached a great forest. And as she was tired, she got 
into a hollow tree, and fell asleep. 

The sun rose, and she slept on, and she was still sleep- 
ing when it was full day. Then it so happened that the 



174 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

King to whom this forest belonged, was hunting in it. 
When his dogs came to the tree, they snuffed, and ran 
barking round about it. The King said to the huntsmen, 
"Just see what kind of wild beast has hidden itself in 
there." The huntsmen obeyed his order, and when they 
came back they said, " A wondrous beast is lying in the 
hollow tree; we have never before seen one like it. Its 
skin is fur of a thousand different kinds, but it is lying 
asleep.'* Said the King, " See if you can catch it alive, and 
then fasten it on the carriage, and we will take it with us." 
When the huntsmen laid hold of the maiden, she awoke 
full of terror, and cried to them, "I am a poor child, 
deserted by father and mother; have pity on me, and 
take me with you." Then said they "Allerleirauh, thou 
wilt be useful in the kitchen, come with us, and thou canst 
sweep up the ashes." So they put her in the carriage, 
and took her home to the royal palace. There they pointed 
out to her a closet under the stairs, where no daylight 
entered, and said, " Hairy animal^ there canst thou live 
and sleep." Then she was sent into the kitchen, and there 
she carried wood and water, swept the hearth, plucked the 
fowls, picked the vegetables, raked the ashes, and did all 
the dirty work. 

Allerleirauh lived there for a long time in great wretched- 
ness. Alas, fair princess, what is to become of thee now! 
It happened, however, that one day a feast was held in 
the palace, and she said to the cook, " May I go up-stairs 
for a while, and look on? I will place myself outside the 
door." The cook answered, " Yes, go, but you must be 
back here in half-an-hour to sweep the hearth." Then she 
took her oil-lamp, went into her den, put off her fur-dress, 
and washed the soot off her face and hands, so that her 
full beauty once more came to light. And she opened the 
nut, and took out her dress which shone like the sun, and 
when she had done that she went up to the festival, and 
every one made way for her, for no one knew her, and 
thought no otherwise than that she was a king's daughter. 
The King came to meet her, gave his hand to her, and 
danced with her, and thought in his heart, " My eyes have 
never yet seen any one so beautiful I" When the dance was 



GRIMM'S TALES 17S 

over she curtsied, and when the King looked round again 
she had vanished, and none knew whither. The guards 
who stood outside the palace were called and questioned, 
but no one had seen her. 

She had, however, run into her little den, had quickly- 
taken off her dress, made her face and hands black again, 
put on the fur-mantle, and again was Allerleirauh. And 
now when she went into the kitchen, and was about to get 
to her work and sweep up the ashes, the cook said, " Leave 
that alone till morning, and make me the soup for the 
King; I, too, will go upstairs awhile, and take a look; but 
let no hairs fall in, or in future thou shalt have nothing 
to eat." So the cook went away, and Allerleirauh made 
the soup for the King, and made bread soup and the best 
she could, and when it was ready she fetched her golden 
ring from her little den, and put it in the bowl in which 
the soup was served. When the dancing was over, the 
King had his soup brought and ate it, and he liked it so 
much that it seemed to him he had never tasted better. 
But when he came to the bottom of the bowl, he saw a 
golden ring' lying, and could not conceive how it could 
have got there. Then he ordered the cook to appear before 
him. The cook was terrified when he heard the order, 
and said to Allerleirauh, " Thou hast certainly let a hair 
fall into the soup, and if thou hast, thou shalt be beaten 
for it." When he came before the King the latter asked 
who had made the soup ? The cook replied, " I made it." 
But the King said, ** That is not true, for it was much 
better than usual, and cooked differently." He answered, 
" I must acknowledge that I did not make it, it was made 
by the rough animal." The King said, " Go and bid it 
come up here." 

When Allerleirauh came, the King said, " Who art thou ?" 
"I am a poor girl who no longer has any father or 
mother." He asked further, "Of what use art thou in my 
palace ?" She answered, " I am good for nothing but to 
have boots thrown at my head." He continued, " Where 
didst thou get the ring which was in the soup?" She an- 
swered, "I know nothing about the ring." So the King, 
could learn nothing, and had to send her away again. 



176 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

After a while, there was another festival, and then, as 
before, Allerleirauh begged the cook for leave to go and 
look on. He answered, "Yes, but come back again in 
half-an-hour, and make the King the bread soup which he 
so much likes." Then she ran into her den, washed her- 
self quickly, and took out of the nut the dress which was 
as silvery as the moon, and put it on. Then she went up 
and was like a princess, and the King stepped forward to 
meet her, and rejoiced to see her once more, and as the 
dance was just beginning they danced it together. But 
when it was at end, she again disappeared so quickly that 
the King could not observe where she went. She, however, 
sprang into her den, and once more made herself a hairy 
animal, and went into the kitchen to prepare the bread 
soup. When the cook had gone up-stairs, she fetched the 
little golden spinning-wheel, and put it in the bowl so that 
the soup covered it. Then it was taken to the King, who 
ate it, and liked it as much as before, and had the cook 
brought, who this time likewise was forced to confess 
that Allerleirauh had prepared the soup, Allerleirauh again 
came before the King, but she answered that she was good 
for nothing else but to have boots thrown at her head, 
and that she knew nothing at all about the little golden 
spinning-wheel. 

When, for the third time, the King held a festival, 
all happened just as it had done before. The cook said, 
** Faith, rough-skin, thou art a witch, and always puttest 
something in the soup which makes it so good that the 
King likes it better than that which I cook," but as she 
begged so hard, he let her go up at the appointed time. And 
now she put on the dress which shone like the stars, and 
thus entered the hall. Again the King danced with the 
beautiful maiden, and thought that she never yet had been 
so beautiful. And whilst she was dancing, he contrived, 
without her noticing it, to slip a golden ring on her finger, 
and he had given orders that the dance should last a very 
long time. When it was ended, he wanted to hold her fast 
by her hands, but she tore herself loose, and sprang away 
so quickly through the crowd that she vanished from his 
sight. She ran as fast as she could into her den beneath 



GRIMM'S TALES 177 

the stairs, but as she had been too long, and had stayed 
more than half-an-hour she could not take off her pretty 
dress, but only threw over it her fur-mantle, and in her haste 
she did not make herself quite black, but one finger re- 
mained white. Then Allerleirauh ran into the kitchen, and 
cooked the bread soup for the King, and as the cook was 
away, put her golden reel into it. When the King found 
the reel at the bottom of it, he caused Allerleirauh to be 
summoned, and then he espied the white finger, and saw 
the ring which he had put on it during the dance. Then 
he grasped her by the hand, and held her fast, and when 
she wanted to release herself and run away, her fur-mantle 
opened a little, and the star-dress shone forth. The King 
clutched the mantle and tore it off. Then her golden hair 
shone forth, and she stood there in full splendour, and 
could no longer hide herself. And when she had washed 
the soot and ashes from her face, she was more beautiful 
than any one who had ever been seen on earth. But the 
King said, "Thou art my dear bride, and we will never 
more part from each other." Thereupon the marriage 
was solemnized, and they lived happily until their death. 



THE WOLF AND THE FOX 

The wolf had the fox with him, and whatsoever the wolf 
wished, that the fox was compelled to do, for he was the 
weaker, and he would gladly have been rid of his master. 
It chanced that once as they were going through the 
forest, the wolf said, " Red- fox, get me something to eat, 
or else I will eat thee thyself." Then the fox answered, 
" I know a farm-yard where there are two young lambs ; 
if thou art inclined, we will fetch one of them." That 
suited the wolf, and they went thither, and the fox stole 
the little lamb, took it to the wolf, and went away. The 
wolf devoured it, but was not satisfied with one; he wanted 
the other as well, and went to get it. As, however, 
he did it so awkwardly, the mother of the little lamb heard 
him, and began to cry out terribly, and to bleat so that the 
farmer came running there. They found the wolf, and beat 



178 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

him so mercilessly, that he went to the fox limping and 
howling. " Thou hast misled me finely," said he ; "I wanted 
to fetch the other lamb, and the country folks surprised 
me, and have beaten me to a jelly." The fox replied, 
" Why art thou such a glutton ? " 

Next day they again went into the country, and the 
greedy wolf once more said, " Red-fox, get me something 
to eat, or I will eat thee thyself." Then answered the fox, 
" I know a farm-house where the wife is baking pan- 
cakes to-night; we will get some of them for ourselves." 
They went there, and the fox slipped round the house, 
and peeped and sniffed about until he discovered where 
the dish was, and then drew down six pancakes and carried 
them to the wolf. " There is something for thee to eat," 
said he to him, and then went his way. The wolf swallowed 
down the pancakes in an instant, and said, "They make one 
want more," and went thither and tore the whole dish down 
so that it broke in pieces. This made such a great noise 
that the woman came out, and when she saw the wolf she 
called the people, who hurried there, and beat him as long 
as their sticks would hold together, till with two lame legs, 
and howling loudly, he got back to the fox in the forest. 
" How abominably thou hast misled me ! " cried he, " the 
peasants caught me, and tanned my skin for me." But the 
fox replied, " Why art thou such a glutton ? " 

On the third day, when they were out together, and 
the wolf could only limp along painfully, he again said, 
** Red- fox, get me something to eat, or I will eat thee 
thyself." The fox answered, "I know a man who has 
been killing, and the salted meat is lying in a barrel in 
the cellar ; we will get that." Said the wolf, " I will go 
when thou dost, that thou may est help me if I am not 
able to get away." "I am willing," said the fox, and 
showed him the by-paths and ways by which at length 
they reached the cellar. There was meat in abundance, 
and the wolf attacked it instantly and thought, "There is 
plenty of time before I need leave off ! " The fox liked it 
also, but looked about everywhere, and often ran to the 
hole by which they had come in, and tried if his body was 
still thin enough to slip through it. The wolf said, " Dear 



GRIMM'S TALES 179 

fox, tell me why thou art running here and there so much 
and jumping in and out?" 

" I must see that no one is coming," replied the crafty- 
fellow. "Don't eat too much ! " Then said the wolf, " I 
shall not leave until the barrel is empty." In the mean- 
time the farmer, who had heard the noise of the fox's 
jumping, came into the cellar. When the fox saw him he 
was out of the hole at one bound. The wolf wanted to 
follow him, but he had made himself so fat with eating 
that he could no longer get through, but stuck fast. Then 
came the farmer with a cudgel and struck him dead, but 
the fox bounded into the forest, glad to be rid of the 
old glutton. 

HANS IN LUCK 

Hans had served his master for seven years, so he said 
to him, " Master, my time is up ; now I should be glad to 
go back home to my mother; give me my wages." The 
master answered, " You have served me faithfully and hon- 
estly ; as the service was so shall the reward be ; " and he 
gave Hans a piece of gold as big as his head. Hans pulled 
his handkerchief out of his pocket, wrapped up the lump in 
it, put it on his shoulder, and set out on the way home. 

As he went on, always putting one foot before the other, 
he saw a horseman trotting quickly and merrily by on a 
lively horse. "Ah!" said Hans quite loud, "what a fine 
thing it is to ride ! There you sit as on a chair ; you stumble 
over no stones, you save your shoes, and get on, you don't 
know how." 

The rider, who had heard him, stopped and called out, 
" Hollo ! Hans, why do you go on foot then ? " 

" I must," answered he, " for I have this lump to carry 
home; it is true that it is gold, but I cannot hold my head 
straight for it, and it hurts my shoulder." 

" I will tell you what," said the rider, " we will exchange : 
I will give you my horse, and you can give me your lump." 

" With all my heart," said Hans, " but I can tell you, you 
will have to crawl along with it." 

The rider got down, took the gold, and helped Hans up; 



180 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

then gave him the bridle tight in his hands and said, "If you 
want to go at a really good pace, you must click your tongue 
and call out, " Jup ! Jup ! " 

Hans was heartily delighted as he sat upon the horse and 
rode away so bold and free. After a little while he thought 
that it ought to go faster, and began to click with his tongue 
and call out, " Jup ! Jup ! " The horse put himself into a 
sharp trot, and before Hans knew where he was, he was 
thrown off and lying in a ditch which separated the field 
from the highway. The horse would have gone off too if 
it had not been stopped by a countryman, who was coming 
along the road and driving a cow before him. 

Hans got his limbs together and stood up on his legs 
again, but he was vexed, and said to the countryman, ** It 
is a poor joke, this riding, especially when one gets hold of 
a mare like this, that kicks and throws one off, so that one 
has a chance of breaking one's neck. Never again will I 
mount it. Now I like your cow, for one can walk quietly 
behind her, and have, over and above, one's milk, butter and 
cheese every day without fail. What would I not give to 
have such a cow." " Well," said the countryman, " if it 
would give you so much pleasure, I do not mind giving the 
cow for the horse." Hans agreed with the greatest delight; 
the countryman jumped upon the horse, and rode quickly 
away. 

Hans drove his cow quietly before him, and thought over 
his lucky bargain. " If only I have a morsel of bread — and 
that can hardly fail me — ^I can eat butter and cheese with 
it as often as I like ; if I am thirsty, I can milk my cow and 
drink the milk. Good heart, what more can I want ? " 

When he came to an inn he made a halt, and in his great 
content ate up what he had with him — his dinner and supper 
— and all he had, and with his last few farthings had half 
a glass of beer. Then he drove his cow onwards along the 
road to his mother's village. 

As it drew nearer mid-day, the heat was more oppressive, 
and Hans found himself upon a moor which it took about 
an hour to cross. He felt it very hot and his tongue clave 
to the roof of his mouth with thirst. " I can find a cure 
for this," thought Hans; "I will milk the cow now and 



GRIMM'S TALES 181 

refresh myself with the milk." He tied her to a withered 
tree, and as he had no pail he put his leather cap under- 
neath; but try as he would, not a drop of milk came. And 
as he set himself to work in a clumsy way, the impatient 
beast at last gave him such a blow on his head with its 
hind foot, that he fell on the ground, and for a long time 
could not think where he was. 

By good fortune a butcher just then came along the road 
with a wheel-barrow, in which lay a young pig. ** What 
sort of a trick is this ? " cried he, and helped the good Hans 
up. Hans told him what had happened. The butcher gave 
him his flask and said, " Take a drink and refresh yourself. 
The cow will certainly give no milk, it is an old beast ; at the 
best it is only fit for the plough, or for the butcher." " Well, 
well," said Hans, as he stroked his hair down on his head, 
"who would have thought it? Certainly it is a fine thing 
when one can kill a beast like that at home; what meat one 
has ! But I do not care much for beef, it is not juicy enough 
for me. A young pig like that now is the thing to have; it 
tastes quite different ; and then there are the sausages ! " 

" Hark ye, Hans," said the butcher, " out of love for you 
I will exchange, and will let you have the pig for the cow." 
" Heaven repay you for your kindness ! " said Hans as he 
gave up the cow, whilst the pig was unbound from the bar- 
row, and the cord by which it was tied was put in his hand. 

Hans went on, and thought to himself how everything 
was going just as he wished; if he did meet with any vex- 
ation it was immediately set right. Presently there joined 
him a lad who was carrying a fine white goose under 
his arm. They said good morning to each other, and Hans 
began to tell of his good luck, and how he had always made 
such good bargains. The boy told him that he was taking 
the goose to a christening- feast. " Just lift her," added he, 
and laid hold of her by the wings ; " how heavy she is — 
she has been fattened up for the last eight weeks. Whoever 
has a bit of her when she is roasted will have to wipe the 
fat from both sides of his mouth." " Yes," said Hans, as 
he weighed her in one hand, " she is a good weight, but my 
pig is no bad one." 

Meanwhile the lad looked suspiciously from one side to 

HC XVII— L 



182 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

the other, and shook his head. " Look here," he said at 
length, " it may not be all right with your pig. In the vil- 
lage through which I passed, the Mayor himself had just 
had one stolen out of its sty. I fear — I fear that you have 
got hold of it there. They have sent out some people and 
it would be a bad business if they caught you with the pig; 
at the very least, you would be shut up in the dark hole." 

The good Hans was terrified. " Goodness ! " he said, 
"help me out of this fix; you know more about this place 
than I do, take my pig and leave me your goose." " I shall 
risk something at that game," answered the lad, "but I will 
not be the cause of your getting into trouble." So he took 
the cord in his hand, and drove away the pig quickly along 
a by-path. 

The good Hans, free from care, went homewards with 
the goose under his arm. " When I think over it properly," 
said he to himself, "I have even gained by the exchange: 
first there is the good roast-meat, then the quantity of fat 
which will drip from it, and which will give me dripping 
for my bread for a quarter of a year, and lastly the beautiful 
white feathers; I will have my pillow stuffed with them, 
and then indeed I shall go to sleep without rocking. How 
glad my mother will be ! " 

As he was going through the last village, there stood a 
scissors-grinder with his barrow; as his wheel whirred he 
sang— 

"I sharpen scissors and quickly grind, 
My coat blows out in the wind behind." 

Hans stood still and looked at him; at last he spoke to 
him and said, " All's well with you, as you are so merry with 
your grinding." " Yes," answered the scissors-grinder, " the 
trade has a golden foundation. A real grinder is a man 
who as often as he puts his hand into his pocket finds gold 
in it. But where did you buy that fine goose ? " 

" I did not buy it, but exchanged my pig for it." 

"And the pig?" 

" That I got for a cow." 

" And the cow ? " 

" I took that instead of a horse." 

"And the horse?" 



GRIMM'S TALES 183 

" For that I gave a lump of gold as big as my head." 

"And the gold?" 

" Well, that was my wages for seven years' service." 

** You have known how to look after yourself each time," 
said the grinder. " If you can only get on so far as to hear 
the money jingle in your pocket whenever you stand up, 
you will have made your fortune." 

'* How shall I manage that ? " said Hans. " You must 
be a grinder, as I am; nothing particular is wanted for it 
but a grindstone, the rest finds itself. I have one here; it 
is certainly a little worn, but you need not give me anything 
for it but your goose ; will you do it ? " 

"How can you ask?" answered Hans. "I shall be the 
luckiest fellow on earth; if I have money whenever I put 
my hand in my pocket, what need I trouble about any 
longer ? " and he handed him the goose and received the 
grindstone in exchange. " Now," said the grinder, as he 
took up an ordinary heavy stone that lay by him, " here 
is a strong stone for you into the bargain; you can ham- 
mer well upon it, and straighten your old nails. Take it 
with you and keep it carefully." 

Hans loaded himself with the stones and went on with 
a contented heart; his eyes shone with joy. "I must have 
been born with a caul," he cried ; " everything I want hap- 
pens to me just as if I were a Sunday-child." 

Meanwhile, as he had been on his legs since daybreak, 
he began to feel tired. Hunger also tormented him, for in 
his joy at the bargain by which he got the cow he had eaten 
up all his store of food at once. At last he could only go 
on with great trouble, and was forced to stop every minute; 
the stones, too, weighed him down dreadfully. Then he 
could not help thinking how nice it would be if he had not 
to carry them just then. 

He crept like a snail to a well in a field, and there he 
thought that he would rest and refresh himself with a cool 
draught of water, but in order that he might not injure 
the stones in sitting down, he laid them carefully by his 
side on the edge of the well. Then he sat down on it, 
and was about to stoop and drink, when he made a slip, 
pushed against the stones, and both of them fell into the 



184 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

water. When Hans saw them with his own eyes sinking 
to the bottom, he jumped for joy, and then knelt down, and 
with tears in his eyes thanked God for having shown him 
this favour also, and deUvered him in so good a way, and 
without his having any need to reproach himself, from those 
heavy stones which had been the only things that troubled 
him. 

" There is no man under the sun so fortunate as I," he 
cried out. With a light heart and free from every burden 
he now ran on until he was with his mother at home. 



THE GOOSE-GIRL 

There was once upon a time an old Queen whose husband 
had been dead for many years, and she had a beautiful 
daughter. When the princess grew up she was betrothed 
to a prince who lived at a great distance. When the time 
came for her to be married, and she had to journey forth 
into the distant kingdom, the aged Queen packed up for 
her many costly vessels of silver and gold, and trinkets 
also of gold and silver; and cups and jewels — in short, 
everything which appertained to a royal dowry, for she 
loved her child with all her heart. She likewise sent her 
maid in waiting, who was to ride with her, and hand her 
over to the bridegroom, and each had* a horse for the jour- 
ney, but the horse of the King's daughter was called Falada, 
and could speak. So when the hour of parting had come, 
the aged mother went into her bedroom, took a small knife 
and cut her finger with it until it bled, then she held a white 
handkerchief to it into which she let three drops of blood 
fall, gave it to her daughter and said, "Dear child, preserve 
this carefully, it will be of service to you on your way." 

So they took a sorrowful leave of each other ; the princess 
put the piece of cloth in her bosom, mounted her horse, 
and then went away to her bridegroom. After she had 
ridden for a while she felt a burning thirst, and said to 
her waiting-maid, " Dismount, and take my cup which thou 
hast brought with thee for me, and get me some water from 
the stream, for I should like to drink." " If you are thirsty," 



GRIMM'S TALES 185 

said the waiting-maid, "get off your horse yourself, and 
lie down and drink out of the water, I don't choose to be 
your servant." So in her great thirst the princess alighted, 
bent down over the water in the stream and drank, and was 
not allowed to drink out of the golden cup. Then she said, 
" Ah, Heaven ! " and the three drops of blood answered, "If 
thy mother knew this, her heart would break." But the 
King's daughter was humble, said nothing, and mounted 
her horse again. She rode some miles further, but the day 
was warm, the sun scorched her, and she was thirsty once 
more, and when they came to a stream of water, she again 
cried to her waiting-maid, "Dismount and give me some 
water in my golden cup," for she had long ago forgotten 
the girl's ill words. But the waiting-maid said still more 
haughtily, "If you wish to drink, drink as you can, I don't 
choose to be your maid." Then in her great thirst the 
King's daughter alighted, bent over the flowing stream, wept 
and said, " Ah, Heaven ! " and the drops of blood again 
replied, " If thy mother knew this, her heart would break." 
And as she was thus drinking and leaning right over the 
stream, the handkerchief with the three drops of blood 
fell out of her bosom, and floated away with the water 
without her observing it, so great was her trouble. The 
waiting-maid, however, had seen it, and she rejoiced to 
think that she had now power over the bride, for since the 
princess had lost the drops of blood, she had become weak 
and powerless. So now when she wanted to mount her 
horse again, the one that was called Falada, the waiting- 
maid said, "Falada is more suitable for me, and my nag 
will do for thee," and the princess had to be content with 
that. Then the waiting-maid, with many hard words, bade 
the princess exchange her royal apparel for her own shabby 
clothes; and at length she was compelled to swear by the 
clear sky above her, that she would not say one word of 
this to any one at the royal court, and if she had not taken 
this oath she would have been killed on the spot. But Falada 
saw all this, and observed it well. 

The waiting-maid now mounted Falada, and the true 
bride the bad horse, and thus they travelled onwards, until 
at length they entered the royal palace. There were great 



186 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

rejoicings over her arrival, and the prince sprang forward 
to meet her, lifted the waiting-maid from her horse, and 
thought she was his consort. She was conducted upstairs, 
but the real princess was left standing below. Then the 
old King looked out of the window and saw her standing 
in the courtyard, and how dainty and delicate and beautiful 
she was, and instantly went to the royal apartment, and 
asked the bride about the girl she had with her who was 
standing down below in the courtyard, and who she was? 
" I picked her up on my way for a companion ; give the girl 
something to work at, that she may not stand idle." But 
the old King had no work for her, and knew of none, so 
he said, " I have a little boy who tends the geese, she may 
help him." The boy was called Conrad, and the true bride 
had to help him to tend the geese. Soon afterwards the 
false bride said to the young King, " Dearest husband, I beg 
you to do me a favour." He answered, ** I will do so most 
willingly." " Then send for the knacker, and have the head 
of the horse on which I rode here cut off, for it vexed me 
on the way." In reality, she was afraid that the horse 
might tell how she had behaved to the King's daughter. 
Then she succeeded in making the King promise that it 
should be done, and the faithful Falada was to die; this 
came to the ears of the real princess, and she secretly prom- 
ised to pay the knacker a piece of gold if he would perform 
a small service for her. There was a great dark-looking 
gateway in the town, through which morning and evening 
she had to pass with the geese : would he be so good as to nail 
up Falada's head on it, so that she might see him again, 
more than once. The knacker's man promised to do that, 
and cut off the head, and nailed it fast beneath the dark 
gateway. 

Early in the morning, when she and Conrad drove out 
their flock beneath this gateway, she said in passing, 

"Alas, Falada, hanging there !" 

Then the head answered, 

"Alas, young Queen, how ill you fare ! 
If this your tender mother knew, 
Her heart would surely break in two." 



GRIMM'S TALES 187 

Then they went still further out of the town, and drove 
their geese into the country. And when they had come 
to the meadow, she sat down and unbound her hair which 
was like pure gold, and Conrad saw it and delighted in its 
brightness, and wanted to pluck out a few hairs. Then 
she said, 

"Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I say, 

Blow Conrad's little hat away, 

And make him chase it here and there. 

Until I have braided all my hair, 

And bound it up again." 

And there came such a violent wind that it blew Conrad's 
hat far away across country, and he was forced to run 
after it. When he came back she had finished combing 
her hair and was putting it up again, and he could not get 
any of it. Then Conrad was angry, and would not speak 
to her, and thus they watched the geese until the evening, 
and then they went home. 

Next day when they were driving the geese out through 
the dark gateway, the maiden said, 

"Alas, Falada, hanging there !" 

Falada answered, 

"Alas, young Queen, how ill you fare ! 
If this your tender mother Jcnew, 
Her heart would surely break in two." 

And she sat down again in the field and began to comb out 
her hair, and Conrad ran and tried to clutch it, so she said 
in haste, 

"Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I say. 

Blow Conrad's little hat away, 

And make him chase it here and there. 

Until I have braided all my hair, 

And bound it up again." 

Then the wind blew, and blew his little hat off his head 
and far away, and Conrad was forced to run after it, and 
when he came back, her hair had been put up a long time, 
and he could get none of it, and so they looked after their 
geese till evening came. 

But in the evening after they had got home, Conrad went 



188 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

to the old King, and said, "I won't tend the geese with 
that girl any longer ! " " Why not ? " inquired the aged 
King. " Oh, because she vexes me the whole day long." 
Then the aged King commanded him to relate what it was 
that she did to him. And Conrad said, " In the morning 
when we pass beneath the dark gateway with the flock, there 
is a sorry horse's head on the wall, and she says to it, 

"Alas, Falada, hanging there !" 
And the head replies, 

"Alas, young Queen, how ill you fare I 
If this your tender mother knew. 
Her heart would surely break in two." 

And Conrad went on to relate what happened on the goose 
pasture, and how when there he had to chase his hat. 

The aged King commanded him to drive his flock out 
again next day, and as soon as morning came, he placed 
himself behind the dark gateway, and heard how the maiden 
spoke to the head of Falada, and then he too went into the 
country, and hid himself in the thicket in the meadow. 
There he soon saw with his own eyes the goose-girl and 
the goose-boy bringing their flock, and how after a while 
she sat down and unplaited her hair, which shone with 
radiance. And soon she said, 

"Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I say. 
Blow Conrad's little hat away, 
And make him chase it here and there, 
Until I have braided all my hair, 
And bound it up again." 

Then came a blast of wind and carried off Conrad's hat, 
so that he had to run far away, while the maiden quietly 
went on combing and plaiting her hair, all of which the 
King observed. Then, quite unseen, he went away, and 
when the goose-girl came home in the evening, he called 
her aside, and asked why she did all these things. " I may 
not tell you that, and I dare not lament my sorrows to 
any human being, for I have sworn not to do so by the heaven 
which is above me; if I had not done that, I should have lost 
my life." He urged her and left her no peace, but he could 



GRIMM'S TALES 189 

draw nothing from her. Then said he, "If thou wilt not 
tell me anything, tell thy sorrows to the iron-stove there," 
and he went away. Then she crept into the iron-stove, and 
began to weep and lament, and emptied her whole heart, 
and said, " Here am I deserted by the whole world, and yet I 
am a King's daughter, and a false waiting-maid has by force 
brought me to such a pass that I have been compelled to 
put off my royal apparel, and she has taken my place with 
my bridegroom, and I have to perform menial service as a 
goose-girl. If my mother did but know that, her heart 
would break." 

The aged King, however, was standing outside by the 
pipe of the stove, and was listening to what she said, and 
heard it. Then he came back again, and bade her come out 
of the stove. And royal garments were placed on her, and 
it was marvellous how beautiful she was ! The aged King 
summoned his son, and revealed to him that he had got the 
false bride who was only a waiting-maid, but that the true 
one was standing there, as the sometime goose-girl. The 
young King rejoiced with all his heart when he saw her 
beauty and youth, and a great feast was made ready to which 
all the people and all good friends were invited. At the 
head of the table sat the bridegroom with the King's daugh- 
ter at one side of him, and the waiting-maid on the other, 
but the waiting-maid was blinded, and did not recognize the 
princess in her dazzling array. When they had eaten and 
drunk, and were merry, the aged King asked the waiting- 
maid as a riddle, what a person deserved who had behaved 
in such and such a way to her master, and at the same time 
related the whole story, and asked what sentence such an 
one merited ? Then the false bride said, " She deserves no 
better fate than to be stripped entirely naked, and put in a 
barrel which is studded inside with pointed nails, and two 
white horses should be harnessed to it, which will drag her 
along through one street after another, till she is dead." 
" It is thou," said the aged King, " and thou hast pronounced 
thine own sentence, and thus shall it be done unto thee." 
And when the sentence had been carried out, the young 
King married his true bride, and both of them reigned over 
their kingdom in peace and happiness. 



190 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 



THE PEASANT'S WISE DAUGHTER 

There was once a poor peasant who had no land, but only 
a small house, and one daughter. Then said the daughter, 
"We ought to ask our lord the King for a bit of newly-cleared 
land." When the King heard of their poverty, he presented 
them with a bit of land, which she and her father dug up, and 
intended to sow with a little corn and grain of that kind. 
When they had dug nearly the whole of the field, they found 
in the earth a mortar made of pure gold. "Listen," said the 
father to the girl, "as our lord the King has been so gracious 
and presented us with the field, we ought to give him this 
mortar in return for it." The daughter, however, would not 
consent to this, and said, "Father, if we have the mortar with- 
out having the pestle as well, we shall have to get the pestle, 
so you had much better say nothing about it." He would, 
however, not obey her, but took the mortar and carried it to 
the King, said that he had found it in the cleared land, and 
asked if he would accept it as a present. The King took the 
mortar, and asked if he had found nothing besides that? 
"No," answered the countryman. Then the King said that he 
must now bring him the pestle. The peasant said they had not 
found that, but he might just as well have spoken to the wind ; 
he was put in prison, and was to stay there until he produced 
the pestle. The servants had daily to carry him bread and 
water, which is what people get in prison, and they heard how 
the man cried out continually, "Ah ! if I had but listened to 
my daughter ! Alas, alas, if I had but listened to my daugh- 
ter !" Then the servants went to the King and told him how 
the prisoner was always crying, "Ah ! if I had but listened to 
my daughter !" and would neither eat nor drink. So he com- 
manded the servants to bring the prisoner before him, and 
then the King asked the peasant why he was always crying, 
"Ah ! if I had but listened to my daughter !" and what it was 
that his daughter had said. "She told me that I ought not to 
take the mortar to you, for I should have to produce the pestle 
as well." "H you have a daughter who is as wise as that, let 
her come here." She was therefore obliged to appear before 
the King, who asked her if she really was so wise, and said he 



GRIMM'S TALES 191 

would set her a riddle, and if she could guess that, he would 
marry her. She at once said yes, she would guess it. Then 
said the King, "Come to me not clothed, not naked, not riding, 
not walking, not in the road, and not out of the road, and if 
thou canst do that I will marry thee." So she went away, put 
off everything she had on, and then she was not clothed, and 
took a great fishing-net, and seated herself in it and wrapped 
it entirely round and round her, and then she was not naked, 
and she hired an ass, and tied the fisherman's net to its tail, 
so that it was forced to drag her along, and that was neither 
riding nor walking. The ass had also to drag her in the ruts, 
so that she only touched the ground with her great toe, and 
that was neither being in the road nor out of the road. And 
when she arrived in that fashion, the King said she had 
guessed the riddle and fulfilled all the conditions. Then he 
ordered her father to be released from the prison, took her to 
wife, and gave into her care all the royal possessions. 

Now when some years had passed, the King was once 
drawing up his troops on parade, when it happened that some 
peasants who had been selling wood stopped with their 
waggons before the palace ; some of them had oxen yoked to 
them, and some horses. There was one peasant who had 
three horses, one of which was delivered of a young foal, and 
it ran away and lay down between two oxen which were in 
front of the waggon. When the peasants came together, they 
began to dispute, to beat each other and make a disturbance, 
and the peasant with the oxen wanted to keep the foal, and 
said one of the oxen had given birth to it, and the other said 
his horse had had it, and that it was his. The quarrel came 
before the King, and he gave the verdict that the foal should 
stay where it had been found, and so the peasant with the 
oxen, to whom it did not belong, got it. Then the other went 
away, and wept and lamented over his foal. Now he had 
heard how gracious his lady the Queen was because she her- 
self had sprung from poor peasant folks, so he went to her 
and begged her to see if she could not help him to get his foal 
back again. Said she, "Yes, I will tell thee what to do, if thou 
wilt promise me not to betray me. Early to-morrow morning, 
when the King parades the guard, place thyself there in the 
middle of the road by which he must pass, take a great fishing- 



192 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

net and pretend to be fishing ; go on fishing too, and empty out 
the net as if thou hadst got it full" — and then she told him 
also what he was to say if he was questioned by the King. 
The next day, therefore, the peasant stood there, and fished 
on dry ground. When the King passed by, and saw that, he 
sent his messenger to ask what the stupid man was about? 
He answered, "I am fishing." The messenger asked how he 
could fish when there was no water whatever there? The 
peasant said, "It is as easy for me to fish on dry land as it is 
for an ox to have a foal." The messenger went back and took 
the answer to the King, who ordered the peasant to be brought 
to him and told him that this was not his own idea, and he 
wanted to know whose it was? The peasant must confess 
that at once. The peasant, however, would not do so, and said 
always, God forbid he should ! the idea was his own. They 
laid him, however, on a heap of straw, and beat him and tor- 
mented him so long that at last he admitted that he had got 
the idea from the Queen. 

When the King reached home again, he said to his wife, 
"Why hast thou behaved so falsely to me? I will not have 
thee any longer for a wife ; thy time is up, go back to the place 
from whence thou camest — to thy peasant's hut." One 
favour, however, he granted her ; she might take with her the 
one thing that was dearest and best in her eyes ; and thus was 
she dismissed. She said, "Yes, my dear husband, if you com- 
mand this, I will do it," and she embraced him and kissed 
him, and said she would take leave of him. Then she ordered a 
powerful sleeping draught to be brought to drink farewell to 
him ; the King took a long draught, but she took only a little. 
He soon fell into a deep sleep, and when she perceived that, 
she called a servant and took a fair white linen cloth and 
wrapped the King in it, and the servant was forced to carry 
him into a carriage that stood before the door, and she drove 
with him to her own little house. She laid him in her own 
little bed, and he slept one day and one night without awaken- 
ing, and when he awoke he looked round and said, "Good 
God! where am I?" He called his attendants, but none of 
them were there. At length his wife came to his bedside and 
said, "My dear lord and King, you told me I might bring away 
with me from the palace that which was dearest and most 



GRIMM'S TALES 193 

precious in my eyes — I have nothing more precious and dear 
than yourself, so I have brought you with me." Tears rose 
to the King's eyes and he said, "Dear wife, thou shalt be mine 
and I will be thine," and he took her back with him to the 
royal palace and was married again to her, and at the present 
time they are very likely still living. 



THE SPIRIT IN THE BOTTLE 

There was once a poor woodcutter who toiled from early 
morning till late night. When at last he had laid by some 
money he said to his boy, "You are my only child, I will spend 
the money which I have earned with the sweat of my brow on 
your education ; if you learn some honest trade you can sup- 
port me in my old age, when my limbs have grown stiff and I 
am obliged to stay at home." Then the boy went to a High 
School and learned diligently so that his masters praised him, 
and he remained there a long time. When he had worked 
through two classes, but was still not yet perfect in every- 
thing, the little pittance which the father had earned was all 
spent, and the boy was obliged to return home to him. "Ah," 
said the father, sorrowfully, "I can give you no more, and in 
these hard times I cannot earn a farthing more than will 
suffice for our daily bread." "Dear father," said the son, 
"don't trouble yourself about it; if it is God's will it will turn 
to my advantage. I shall soon accustom myself to it." When 
the father wanted to go into the forest to earn money by help- 
ing to pile and stack wood and also to chop it, the son said, 
"I will go with you and help you." "Nay, my son," said the 
father, "that would be hard for you ; you are not accustomed 
to rough work, and will not be able to bear it, besides I have 
only one axe and no money left wherewith to buy another." 
"Just go to the neighbour," answered the son, "he will lend 
you his axe until I have earned one for myself." The father 
then borrowed an axe of the neighbour, and next morning at 
break of day they went into the forest together. The son 
helped his father and was quite merry and brisk about it. But 
when the sun was right over their heads, the father said, 
"We will rest, and have our dinner, and then we shall work 



194 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

as well again." The son took his bread in his hands, and said, 
"Just you rest, father, I am not tired ; I will walk up and down 
a little in the forest, and look for birds' nests." "Oh, you 
fool," said the father, "why should you want to run about 
there? Afterwards you will be tired, and no longer able to 
raise your arm; stay here, and sit down beside me." The 
son, however, went into the forest, ate his bread, was very 
merry, peered in among the green branches to see if he could 
discover a bird's nest anywhere. So he went up and down to 
see if he could find a bird's nest, until at last he came to a 
great dangerous-looking oak, which certainly was already 
many hundred years old, and which five men could not have 
spanned. He stood still and looked at it, and thought, "Many 
a bird must have built its nest in that." Then all at once it 
seemed to him that he heard a voice. He listened and became 
aware that some one was crying in a very smothered voice, 
"Let me out, let me out !" He looked around, but could dis- 
cover nothing; nevertheless, he fancied that the voice came 
out of the ground. Then he cried, "Where art thou ?" The 
voice answered, "I am down here amongst the roots of the 
oak-tree. Let me out ! Let me out !" The scholar began to 
loosen the earth under the tree, and search among the roots, 
until at last he found a glass bottle in a little hollow. He 
lifted it up and held it against the light, and then saw a 
creature shaped like a frog springing up and down in it. "Let 
me out ! Let me out !" it cried anew, and the scholar thinking 
no evil, drew the cork out of the bottle. Immediately a spirit 
ascended from it, and began to grow, and grew so fast that in 
a very few moments he stood before the scholar, a terrible 
fellow as big as half the tree by which he was standing. 
"Knowest thou," he cried in an awful voice, "what thy wages 
are for having let me out?'* "No," replied the scholar fear- 
lessly, "how should I know that?" "Then I will tell thee," 
cried the spirit ; "I must strangle thee for it." "Thou shouldst 
have told me that sooner," said the scholar, "for I should then 
have left thee shut up, but my head shall stand fast for all 
thou canst do ; more persons than one must be consulted about 
that." "More persons here, more persons there," said the 
spirit. "Thou shalt have the wages thou hast earned. Dost 
thou think that I was shut up there for such a long time as a 



GRIMM'S TALES 195 

favour? No, it was a punishment for me. I am the mighty 
Mercurius. Who so releases me, him must I strangle." 
"Softly," answered the scholar, "not so fast. I must first 
know that thou wert really shut up in that little bottle, and 
that thou art the right spirit. If indeed, thou canst get in 
again, I will believe, and then thou mayst do as thou wilt with 
me." The spirit said haughtily, "That is a very trifling feat," 
drew himself together, and made himself as small and slender 
as he had been at first, so that he crept through the same open- 
ing, and right through the neck of the bottle in again. 
Scarcely was he within than the scholar thrust the cork he 
had drawn back into the bottle, and threw it among the roots 
of the oak into its old place, and the spirit was betrayed. 

And now the scholar was about to return to his father, but 
the spirit cried very piteously, "Ah, do let me out ! Ah, do let 
me out!" "No," answered the scholar, "not a second time! 
He who has once tried to take my life shall not be set free by 
me, now that I have caught him again." "If thou wilt set 
me free," said the spirit, "I will give thee so much that thou 
wilt have plenty all the days of thy life." "No," answered 
the scholar, "thou wouldst cheat me as thou didst the first 
time." "Thou art playing away thy own good luck," said the 
spirit ; "I will do thee no harm, but will reward thee richly." 
The scholar thought, "I will venture it, perhaps he will keep 
his word, and anyhow he shall not get the better of me." Then 
he took out the cork, and the spirit rose up from the bottle 
as he had done before, stretched himself out and became 
as big as a giant. "Now thou shalt have thy reward," said 
he, and handed the scholar a little bag just like a plaster, and 
said, "If thou spreadest one end of this over a wound it will 
heal, and if thou rubbest steel or iron with the other end it 
will be changed into silver." " I must just try that," said the 
scholar, and went to a tree, tore off the bark with his axe, and 
rubbed it with one end of the plaster. It immediately closed 
together and was healed. "Now, it is all right," he said to the 
spirit, "and we can part." The spirit thanked him for his 
release, and the scholar thanked the spirit for his present, 
and went back to his father. 

"Where hast thou been racing about?" said the father; 
"why hast thou forgotten thy work? I said at once that 



196 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

thou wouldst never get on with anything." "Be easy, father, 
I will make it up." "Make it up indeed," said the father 
angrily, "there's no art in that." "Take care, father, I will 
soon hew that tree there, so that it will split." Then he took 
his plaster, rubbed the axe with it, and dealt a mighty blow, 
but as the iron had changed into silver, the edge turned: 
"Hollo, father, just look what a bad axe you've given me, it 
has become quite crooked." The father was shocked and 
said, "Ah, what hast thou done ? now I shall have to pay for 
that, and have HOt the wherewithal, and that is all the good I 
have got by thy work." "Don't get angry," said the son, "I 
will soon pay for the axe." "Oh, thou blockhead,'* cried the 
father, "wherewith wilt thou pay for it? Thou hast nothing 
but what I give thee. These are students' tricks that are 
sticking in thy head, but thou hast no idea of wood-cutting." 
After a while the scholar said, "Father, I can really work no 
more, we had better take a holiday." "Eh, what !" answered 
he. "Dost thou think I will sit with my hands lying in my 
lap like thee ? I must go on working, but thou mayst take thy- 
self off home." "Father, I am here in this wood for the first 
time, I don't know my way alone. Do go with me." As his 
anger had new abated, the father at last let himself be per- 
suaded and went home with him. Then he said to the son, 
"Go and sell thy damaged axe, and see what thou canst get 
for it, and I must earn the difference, in order to pay the 
neighbour." The soon took the axe, and carried it into town 
to a goldsmith, who tested it, laid it in the scales, and said, "It 
is worth four hundred thalers, I have not so much as that by 
me." The son said, "Give me what you have, I will lend you 
the rest." The goldsmith gave him three hundred thalers, 
and remained a hundred in his debt. The son thereupon went 
home and said, "Father, I have got the money, go and ask 
the neighbour what he wants for the axe." "I know that 
already," answered the old man, "one thaler six groschen." 
"Then give him two thalers, twelve groschen, that is double 
and enough; see, I have money in plenty," and he gave the 
father a hundred thalers, and said, "You shall never know 
want, live as comfortably as you like." "Good heavens !" said 
the father, "how hast thou come by these riches?" The 
scholar then told how all had come to pass, and how he, trust- 



GRIMM'S TALES 197 

ing in his luck, had made such a good hit. But with the money 
that was left, he went back to the High School and went on 
learning more, and as he could heal all wounds with his plas- 
ter, he became the most famous doctor in the whole world. 



BEARSKIN 

There was once a young fellow who enlisted as a soldier, 
conducted himself bravely, and was always the foremost 
when it rained bullets. So long as the war lasted, all went 
well, but when peace was made, he received his dismissal, and 
the captain said he might go where he liked. His parents 
were dead, and he had no longer a home, so he went to his 
brothers and begged them to take him in, and keep him until 
war broke out again. The brothers, however, were hard- 
hearted and said, "What can we do with thee ? thou art of no 
use; go and make a living for thyself." The soldier had 
nothing left but his gun; he took that on his shoulder, and 
went forth into the world. He came to a wide heath, on 
which nothing was to be seen but a circle of trees ; under these 
trees he sat sorrowfully down, and began to think over his 
fate. "I have no money," thought he, "I have learnt no trade 
but that of fighting, and now that they have made peace they 
don't want me any longer; so I see beforehand that I shall 
have to starve." All at once he heard a rustling, and when 
he looked round, a strange man stood before him, who wore 
a green coat and looked right stately, but had a hideous cloven 
foot. "I know already what thou art in need of," said the 
man ; "gold and possessions slialt thou have, as much as thou 
canst make away with do what thou wilt, but first I must 
know if thou art fearless, that I may not bestow my money in 
vain." "A soldier and fear — how can those two things go 
together?" he answered; "thou canst put me to the proof." 
"Very well, then," answered the man, "look behind thee." 
The soldier turned round, and saw a large bear, which came 
growling towards him. "Oho !" cried the soldier, "I will 
tickle thy nose for thee, so that thou shalt soon lose thy fancy 
for growling," and he aimed at the bear and shot it through 
the muzzle ; it fell down and never stirred again. "I see quite 

HC XVII— M 



198 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

well," said the stranger, "that thou art not wanting in cour- 
age, but there is still another condition which thou wilt have 
to fulfil." *lf it does not endanger my salvation," replied the 
soldier, who knew very well who was standing beside him. 
"If it does, I'll have nothing to do with it." "Thou wilt look 
to that for thyself," answered Greencoat; "thou shalt for the 
next seven years neither wash thyself, nor comb thy beard, 
nor thy hair, nor cut thy nails, nor say one paternoster. I 
will give thee a coat and a cloak, which during this time thou 
must wear. If thou diest during these seven years, thou art 
mine; if thou remainest alive, thou art free, and rich to boot, 
for all the rest of thy life." The soldier thought of the great 
extremity in which he now found himself, and as he so often 
had gone to meet death, he resolved to risk it now also, and 
agreed to the terms. The Devil took off his green coat, 
gave it to the soldier, and said, "If thou hast this coat on thy 
back and puttest thy hand into the pocket, thou wilt always 
find it full of money." Then he pulled the skin off the bear 
and said, "This shall be thy cloak, and thy bed also, for 
thereon shalt thou sleepy and in no other bed shalt thou lie, 
and because of this apparel shalt thou be called Bearskin." 
After this the Devil vanished. 

The soldier put the coat on, felt at once in the pocket, and 
found that the thing was really true. Then he put on the 
bearskin, and went forth into the world, and enjoyed himself, 
refraining from nothing that did him good and his money 
harm. During the first year his appearance was passable, 
but during the second he began to look like a monster. His 
hair covered nearly the whole of his face, his beard was like 
a piece of coarse felt, his fingers had claws, and his face was 
so covered with dirt that if cress had been sown on it, it would 
have come up. Whosoever saw him, ran away, but as he 
everywhere gave the poor money to pray that he might not 
die during the seven years, and as he paid well for everything 
he still always found shelter. In the fourth year, he entered 
an inn where the landlord would not receive him, and would 
not even let him have a place in the stable, because he was 
afraid the horses would be scared. But as Bearskin thrust 
his hand into his pocket and pulled out a handful of ducats, 
the host let himself be persuaded and gave him a room in an 



GRIMM'S TALES 199 

outhouse. Bearskin was, however, obliged to promise not to 
let himself be seen, lest the inn should get a bad name. 

As Bearskin was sitting alone in the evening, and wishing 
from the bottom of his heart that the seven years were over, 
he heard a loud lamenting in a neighbouring room. He had a 
compassionate heart, so he opened the door, and saw an old 
man weeping bitterly, and wringing his hands. Bearskin 
went nearer, but the man sprang to his feet and tried to 
escape from him. At last when the man perceived that 
Bearskin's voice was human he let himself be prevailed 
on, and by kind words Bearskin succeeded so far that the 
old man revealed the cause of his grief. His property had 
dwindled away by degrees, he and his daughters would 
have to starve, and he was so poor that he could not pay 
the innkeeper, and was to be put in prison. "If that is your 
only trouble," said Bearskin, " I have plenty of money." - 
He caused the innkeeper to be brought thither, paid him 
and put a purse full of gold into the poor old man's pocket 
besides. 

When the old man saw himself set free from all his 
troubles he did not know how to be grateful enough. " Come 
with me," said he to Bearskin; "my daughters are all 
miracles of beauty, choose one of them for thyself as a 
wife. When she hears what thou hast done for me, she 
will not refuse thee. Thou dost in truth look a little 
strange, but she will soon put thee to rights again." This 
pleased Bearskin well, and he went. When the eldest 
saw him she was so terribly alarmed at his face that she 
screamed and ran away. The second stood still and looked 
at him from head to foot, but then she said, " How can I 
accept a husband who no longer has a human form? The 
shaven bear that once was here and passed itself off for 
a man pleased me far better, for at any rate it wore a 
hussar's dress and white gloves. If it were nothing but 
ugliness, I might get used to that." The youngest, how- 
ever, said, "Dear father, that must be a good man to 
have helped you out of your trouble, so if you have promised 
him a bride for doing it, your promise must be kept." 
It was a pity that Bearskin's face was covered with 
dirt and with hair, for if not they might have seen how 



200 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

delighted he was when he heard these words. He took 
» ring from his finger, broke it in two, and gave her one 
half, the other he kept for himself. He wrote his name, 
however, on her half, and hers on his, and begged her 
to keep her piece carefully, and then he took his leave and 
said, " I must still wander about for three years, and if 
I do not return then, thou art free, for I shall be dead. 
But pray to God to preserve my life." 

The poor betrothed bride dressed herself entirely in 
black, and when she thought of her future bridegroom, 
tears came into her eyes. Nothing but contempt and mock- 
ery fell to her lot from her sisters. " Take care," said 
the eldest, "if thou givest him thy hand, he will strike 
his claws into it." " Beware ! " said the second. " Bears 
like sweet things, and if he takes a fancy to thee, he will 
eat thee up." " Thou must always do as he likes," began 
the elder again, "or else he will growl." And the second 
continued, "but the wedding will be a merry one, for bears 
dance well." The bride was silent, and did not let them 
vex her. Bearskin, however, travelled about the world 
from one place to another, did good where he was able, 
and gave generously to the poor that they might pray for 
him. 

At length, as the last day of the seven years dawned, 
he went once more out on to the heath, and seated himself 
beneath the circle of trees. It was not long before the 
wind whistled, and the Devil stood before him and looked 
angrily at him; then he threw Bearskin his old coat, and 
asked for his own green one back. " We have not got so 
far as that yet," answered Bearskin, " thou must first make 
me clean." Whether the Devil liked it or not, he was forced 
to fetch water, and wash Bearskin, comb his hair, and cut 
his nails. After this, he looked like a brave soldier, and 
was much handsomer that he had ever been before. 

When the Devil had gone away. Bearskin was quite 
light-hearted. He went into the town, put on a magnifi- 
cent velvet coat, seated himself in a carriage drawn by 
four white horses, and drove to his bride's house. No one 
recognized him, the father took him for a distinguished 
general, and led him into the room where his daughters 



GRIMM'S TALES 201 

were sitting. He was forced to place himself between the 
two eldest, they helped him to wine, gave him the best 
pieces of meat, and thought that in all the world they had 
never seen a handsomer man. The bride, however, sat 
opposite to him in her black dress, and never raised her 
eyes, nor spoke a word. When at length he asked the 
father if he would give him one of his daughters to wife, 
the two eldest jumped up, ran into their bedrooms to put 
on splendid dresses, for each of them fancied she was the 
chosen one. The stranger, as soon as he was alone with 
his bride, brought out his half of the ring, and threw it in 
a glass of wine which he reached across the table to her. 
She took the wine, but when she had drunk it, and found 
the half ring lying at the bottom, her heart began to beat. 
She got the other half, which she wore on a ribbon round 
her neck, joined them, and saw that the two pieces fitted 
exactly together. Then said he, " I am thy betrothed bride- 
groom, whom thou sawest as Bearskin, but through God's 
grace I have again received my human form, and have 
once more become clean." He went up to her, embraced her, 
and gave her a kiss. In the mean time the two sisters tame 
back in full dress, and when they saw that the handsome 
man had fallen to the share of the youngest, and heard 
that he was. Bearskin, they ran out full of anger and rage. 
One of them drowned herself in the well, the other hanged 
herself on a tree. In the evening, some one knocked at the 
door, and when the bridegroom opened it, it was the Devil 
in his green coat, who said, " Seest thou, I have now got 
two souls in the place of thy one ! " 



THE WILLOW-WREN AND THE BEAR 

Once in summer-time the bear and the wolf were walking 
in the forest, and the bear heard a bird singing so beauti- 
fully that he said, " Brother wolf, what bird is it that 
sings so well?" "That is the King of the birds," said the 
wolf, " before whom we must bow down." It was, however, 
in reality the willow-wren {saunkonig) , 'If that's the 
case," said the bear, " I should very much like to see his 



202 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

royal palace ; come, take me thither." " That is not done 
quite as you seem to think/* said the wolf ; " you must wait 
until the Queen comes." Soon afterwards, the Queen ar- 
rived with some food in her beak, and the lord King came 
too, and they began to feed their young ones. The bear 
would have liked to go at once, but the wolf held him 
back by the sleeve, and said, " No, you must wait until the 
lord and lady Queen have gone away again." So they 
observed the hole in which was the nest, and trotted away. 
The bear, however, could not rest until he had seen the 
royal palace, and when a short time had passed, again 
went to it. The King and Queen had just flown out, so 
he peeped in and saw five or six young ones lying in 
it. "Is that the royal palace?" cried the bear; "it is 
a wretched palace, and you are not King's children; 
you are disreputable children!" When the young wrens 
heard that, they were frightfully angry, and screamed, " No, 
that we are not! Our parents are honest people! Bear, 
thou wilt have to pay for that!" 

The bear and the wolf grew uneasy, and turned back 
and went into their holes. The young willow-wrens, how- 
ever, continued to cry and scream, and when their parents 
again brought food they said, " We will not so much as 
touch one fly's leg, no, not if we were dying of hunger, until 
you have settled whether we are respectable children or 
not; the bear has been here and has insulted us!" Then 
the old King said, "Be easy, he shall be punished," and he 
at once flew with the Queen to the bear's cave, and called 
in, " Old Growler, why hast thou insulted my children ? 
Thou shalt suffer for it — we will punish thee by a bloody 
war." Thus war was announced to the bear, and all 
four-footed animals were summoned to take part in it, 
oxen, asses, cows, deer, and every other animal the earth 
contained. And the willow-wren summoned everything 
which flew in the air, not only birds, large and small, but 
midges, and hornets, bees and flies had to come. 

When the time came for the war to begin, the willow- 
wren sent out spies to discover who was the enemy's com- 
mander-in-chief. The gnat, who was the most crafty, flew 
into the forest where the enemy was assembled, and hid 



GRIMM'S TALES 203 

herself beneath a leaf of the tree where the watchword 
was to be given. There stood the bear, and he called the 
fox before him and said, " Fox, thou art the most cunning 
of all animals, thou shalt be general and lead us." " Good," 
said the f ox^ " but what signal shall we agree upon ? " No 
one knew that, so the fox said, " I have a fine long bushy 
tail, which almost looks like a plume of red feathers. When 
I lift my tail up quite high, all is going well, and you must 
charge; but if I let it hang down, run away as fast as you 
can." When the gnat had heard that, she flew away again, 
and revealed everything, with the greatest minuteness, to the 
willow-wren. When day broke, and the battle was to be- 
gin, all the four-footed animals came running up with such 
a noise that the earth trembled. The willow-wren also came 
flying through the air with his army with such a humming, 
and whirring, and swarming that every one was uneasy 
and afraid, and on both sides they advanced against each 
other. But the willow-wren sent down the hornet, with 
orders to get beneath the fox's tail, and sting it with all 
his might. When the fox felt the first sting, he started so 
that he drew up one leg, with the pain, but he bore it, 
and still kept his tail high in the air; at the second sting, 
he was forced to put it down for a moment: at the third, 
he could hold out no longer, and screamed out and put his 
tail between his legs. When the animals saw that, they 
thought all was lost, and began to fly^ each into his hole 
and the birds had won the battle. 

Then the King and Queen flew home to their children 
and cried, " Children, rejoice, eat and drink to your 
heart's content, we have won the battle ! " But the young 
wrens said, " We will not eat yet, the bear must come to 
the nest, and beg for pardon and say that we are honour- 
able children, before we will do that." Then the willow- 
wren flew to the bear's hole and cried, " Growler, thou 
art to come to the nest to my children, and beg their 
pardon, or else every rib of thy body shall be broken." 
So the bear crept thither in the greatest fear, and begged 
their pardon. And now at last the young wrens were 
satisfied, and sat down together and ate and drank and 
made merry till quite late into the night. 



204 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 



WISE FOLKS 

One day a peasant took his good hazel-stick out of the 
corner and said to his wife, " Trina, I am going across 
country, and shall not return for three days. If during 
that time the cattle-dealer should happen to call and want 
to buy our three cows, you may strike a bargain at once, 
but not unless you can get two hundred thalers for them; 
nothing less, do you hear?" "For heaven's sake just go 
in peace," answered the woman, " I will manage that." 
" You, indeed," said the man. " You once fell on your head 
when you were a little child, and that affects you even now ; 
but let me tell you this, if you do anything foolish, I will 
make your back black and blue, and not with paint, I assure 
you, but with the stick which I have in my hand, and the 
colouring shall last a whole year, you may rely on that." 
And having said that, the man went on his way. 

Next morning the cattle-dealer came, and the woman had 
no need to say many words to him. When he had seen the 
cows and heard the price, he said, " I am quite willing to 
give that; honestly speaking, they are worth it. I will take 
the beasts away with me at once." He unfastened their 
chains and drove them out of the byre, but just as he was 
going out of the yard-door, the woman clutched him by the 
sleeve and said, " You must give me the two hundred thalers 
now, or I cannot let the cows go." " True," answered the 
man, "but I have forgotten to buckle on my money-belt. 
Have no fear, however, you shall have security for my 
paying. I will take two cows with me and leave one, and 
then you will have a good pledge." The woman saw the 
force of this, and let the man go away with the cows, and 
thought to herself, " How pleased Hans will be when he finds 
how cleverly I have managed it ! " The peasant came home 
on the third day as he had said he would, and at once in- 
quired if the cows were sold ? " Yes, indeed, dear Hans," 
answered the woman, " and as you said, for two hundred 
thalers. They are scarcely worth so much, but the man took 
them without making any objection." "Where is the 
money?" asked the peasant. "Oh, I have not got the 



GRIMM'S TALES 205 

money/' replied the woman ; " he had happened to forget 
his money-belt, but he will soon bring it, and he left good 
security behind him." " What kind of security ? " asked the 
man. " One of the three cows, which he shall not have until 
he has paid for the other two. I have managed very cun- 
ningly, for I have kept the smallest, which eats the least." 
The man was enraged and lifted up his stick, and was just 
going to give her the beating he had promised her. Sud- 
denly he let the stick fall and said, " You are the stupidest 
goose that ever waddled on God's earth, but I am sorry for 
you. I will go out into the highways and wait for three days 
to see if I find any one who is still stupider than you. If I 
succeed in doing so, you shall go scot-free, but if I do not 
find him, you shall receive your well-deserved reward with- 
out any discount." 

He went out into the great highways, sat down on a 
stone, and waited for what would happen. Then he saw 
a peasant's waggon coming towards him, and a woman was 
standing upright in the middle of it, instead of sitting on 
the bundle of straw which was lying beside her, or walking 
near the oxen and leading them. The man thought to 
himself, " That is certainly one of the kind I am in search 
of," and jumped up and ran backwards and forwards in 
front of the waggon like one who is not very wise. " What 
do you want, my friend ? " said the woman to him ; " I don't 
know you, where do you come from ? " "I have fallen down 
from Heaven," replied the man, " and don't know how to 
get back again, couldn't you drive me up ? " " No," said the 
woman, " I don't know the way, but if you come from 
Heaven you can surely tell me how my husband, who has 
been there these three years, is. You must have seen him ? " 
" Oh, yes, I have seen him, but all men can't get on well. 
He keeps sheep, and the sheep give him a great deal to do. 
They run up the mountains and lose their way in the wilder- 
ness, and he has to run after them and drive them together 
again. His clothes are all torn to pieces too, and will soon 
fall off his body. There is no tailor there, for Saint Peter 
won't let any of them in, as you know by the story." " Who 
would have thought it ? " cried the woman, " I tell you what, 
I will fetch his Sunday coat which is still hanging at home 



206 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

in the cupboard, he can wear that and look respectable. 
You will be so kind as to take it with you." " That won't 
do very well," answered the peasant ; '* people are not al- 
lowed to take clothes into Heaven, they are taken away from 
one at the gate." " Then hark you," said the woman, " I sold 
my fine wheat yesterday and got a good lot of money for it, 
I will send that to him. If you hide the purse in your 
pocket, no one will know that you have it." "If you can't 
manage it any other way," said the peasant, " I will do you 
that favour." " Just sit still where you are," said she, " and 
I will drive home and fetch the purse, I shall soon be back 
again. I do not sit down on the bundle of straw, but stand 
up in the waggon, because it makes it lighter for the cattle." 
She drove her oxen away, and the peasant thought, " That 
woman has a perfect talent for folly, if she really brings 
the money, my wife may think herself fortunate, for she 
will get no beating." It was not long before she came in 
a great hurry with the money, and with her own hands put 
it in his pocket. Before she went away, she thanked him 
again a thousand times for his courtesy. 

When the woman got home again, she found her son 
who had come in from the field. She told him what un- 
looked-for things had befallen her, and then added, " I am 
truly delighted at having found an opportunity of sending 
something to my poor husband. Who would ever have 
imagined that he could be suffering for want of anything 
up in Heaven ? " The son was full of astonishment. 
" Mother," said he, " it is not every day that a man comes 
from Heaven in this way, I will go out immediately, and 
see if he is still to be found ; he must tell me what it is like 
up there, and how the work is done." He saddled the horse 
and rode off with all speed. He found the peasant who was 
sitting under a willow-tree, and was just going to count 
the money in the purse. " Have you seen the man who has 
fallen down from Heaven ? " cried the youth to him. " Yes," 
answered the peasant, " he has set out on his way back there, 
and has gone up that hill, from whence it will be rather 
nearer; you could still catch him up, if you were to ride 
fast." " Alas," said the youth, " I have iDcen doing tiring 
work all day, and the ride here has completely worn me out ; 



GRIMM'S TALES 207 

you know the man, be so kind as to get on my horse, and go 
and persuade him to come here." " Aha ! " thought the 
peasant, " here is another who has no wick in his lamp ! " 
" Why should I not do you this favour ? " said he, and 
mounted the horse and rode off in a quick trot. The youth 
remained sitting there till night fell, but the peasant 
never came back. " The man from Heaven must certainly 
have been in a great hurry, and would not turn back," 
thought he, " and the peasant has no doubt given him the 
horse to take to my father." He went home and told his 
mother what had happened, and that he had sent his father 
the horse so that he might not have to be always running 
about. " Thou hast done well," answered she, " thy legs 
are younger than his, and thou canst go on foot." 

When the peasant got home, he put the horse in the 
stable beside the cow which he had as a pledge, and then 
went to his wife and said, " Trina, as your luck would have 
it, I have found two who are still sillier fools than you ; this 
time you escape without a beating, I will store it up for an- 
other occasion." Then he lighted his pipe, sat down in his 
grandfather's chair, and said, " It was a good stroke of busi- 
ness to get a sleek horse and a great purse full of money 
into the bargain, for two lean cows. If stupidity always 
brought in as much as that I would be quite willing to hold 
it in honour." So thought the peasant, but you no doubt 
prefer the simple folks. 



THE SHROUD 

There was once a mother who had a little boy of seven 
years old, who was so handsome and loveable that no one 
could look at him without liking him, and she herself wor- 
shipped him above everything in the world. Now it so 
happened that he suddenly became ill, and God took him 
to himself; and for this the mother could not be comforted, 
and wept both day and night. But soon afterwards, when 
the child had been buried, it appeared by night in the places 
where it had sat and played during its life, and if the mother 
wept, it wept also, and when morning came it disappeared. 



208 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

As, however, the mother would not stop crying, it came one 
night, in the Httle white shroud in which it had been laid 
in its coffin, and with its wreath of flowers round its head, 
and stood on the bed at her feet, and said, " Oh, mother, do 
stop crying, or I shall never fall asleep in my coffin, for my 
shroud will not dry because of all thy tears, which fall upon 
it." The mother was afraid when she heard that, and wept 
no more. The next night the child came again, and held 
a little light in its hand, and said, " Look, mother, my shroud 
is nearly dry, and I can rest in my grave." Then the mother 
gave her sorrow into God's keeping, and bore it quietly and 
patiently, and the child came no more, but slept in its little 
bed beneath the earth. 



THE TWO KINGS' CHILDREN 

There was once on a time a King who had a little boy 
of whom it had been foretold that he should be killed by 
a stag when he was sixteen years of age, and when he had 
reached that age the huntsmen once went hunting with him. 
In the forest, the King's son was separated from the others, 
and all at once he saw a great stag which he wanted to 
shoot, but could not hit. At length he chased the stag so 
far that they were quite out of the forest, and then suddenly 
a great tall man was standing there instead of the stag, and 
said, " It is well that I have thee, I have already ruined six 
pairs of glass skates with running after thee, and have not 
been able to get thee." Then he took the King's son with 
him, and dragged him through a great lake to a great 
palace, and then he had to sit down to table with him and 
eat something. When they had eaten something together 
the King said, " I have three daughters, thou must keep 
watch over the eldest for one night, from nine in the evening 
till six in the morning, and every time the clock strikes, I 
will come myself and call, and if thou then givest me no 
answer, to-morrow morning thou shalt be put to death, but 
if thou always givest me an answer, thou shalt have her to 
wife." 

When the young folks went to the bed-room there stood 



GRIMM'S TALES 209 

a stone image of St. Christopher, and the King's daughter 
said to it, " My father will come at nine o'clock, and every 
hour till it strikes three; when he calls, give him an answer 
instead of the King's son." Then the stone image of St. 
Christopher nodded its head quite quickly, and then more 
and more slowly till at last it stood still. The next morning 
the King said to him,. "Thou hast done the business well, 
but I cannot give my daughter away, thou must now watch 
a night by my second daughter, and then I will consider with 
myself, whether thou canst have my eldest daughter to wife, 
but I shall come every hour myself, and when I call thee, 
answer me, and if I call thee and thou dost not reply, thy 
blood shall flow." Then they both went into the sleeping- 
room, and there stood a still larger stone image of St. Chris- 
topher, and the King's daughter said to it, " If my father 
calls do you answer him." Then the great stone image of 
St. Christopher again nodded its head quite quickly and then 
more and more slowly, until at last it stood still again. And 
the King's son lay down on the threshold, put his hand under 
his head and slept. The next morning the King said to him, 
" Thou hast done the business really well, but I cannot give 
my daughter away; thou must now watch a night by the 
youngest princess, and then I will consider with myself 
whether thou canst have my second daughter to wife, but 
I shall come every hour myself, and when I call thee answer 
me, and if I call thee and thou answer est not, thy blood shall 
flow for me." 

Then they once more went to the sleeping-room together, 
and there was a much greater and much taller image of 
St. Christopher than the two first had been. The King's 
daughter said to it, " When my father calls, do thou answer." 
Then the great tall stone image of St. Christopher nodded 
quite half an hour with its head, until at length the head 
stood still again. And the King's son lay down on the 
threshold of the door and slept. The next morning the King 
said, "Thou hast indeed watched well, but I cannot give 
thee my daughter now; I have a great forest, if thou cuttest 
it down for me between six o'clock this morning and six 
at night, I will think about it." Then he gave him a glass 
axe, a glass wedge, and a glass mallet. When he got into 



210 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

the wood, he began to cut, but the axe broke in two, then 
he took the wedge, and struck it once with the mallet, and 
it became as short and as small as sand. Then he was much 
troubled and believed he would have to die, and sat down 
and wept. 

Now when it was noon the King said, " One of you girls 
must take him something to eat." " No," said the two eldest, 
'' we will not take it to him ; the one by whom he last 
watched, can take him something." Then the youngest was 
forced to go and take him something to eat. When she got 
into the forest, she asked him how he was getting on? 
" Oh," said he, " I am getting on very badly." Then she said 
he was to come and just eat a little. " Nay," said he, " I can- 
not do that, I shall still have to die, so I will eat no more." 
Then she spoke so kindly to him and begged him just to try, 
that he came and ate something. When he had eaten some- 
thing she said, " I will comb thy hair a while, and then thou 
wilt feel happier." 

So she combed his hair, and he became weary and fell 
asleep, and then she took her handkerchief and made a knot 
in it, and struck it three times on the earth, and said, " Earth- 
workers, come forth." In a moment, numbers of little earth- 
men came forth, and asked what the King's daughter com- 
manded ? Then said she, " In three hours' time the great 
forest must be cut down, and the whole of the wood laid in 
heaps." So the little earth-men went about and got together 
the whole of their kindred to help them with the work. They 
began at once, and when the three hours were over, all was 
done, and they came back to the King's daughter and told 
her so. Then she took her white handkerchief again and 
said, " Earth-workers, go home." On this they all disap- 
peared. 

When the King's son awoke, he was delighted, and she 
said, " Come home when it has struck six o'clock." He did 
as she told him, and then the King asked, " Hast thou made 
away with the forest ? " " Yes," said the King's son. When 
they were sitting at table, the King said, " I cannot yet 
give thee my daughter to wife, thou must still do something 
more for her sake." So he asked what it was to be, then? 
" I have a great fish-pond," said the King. " Thou must go 



GRIMM'S TALES 211 

to it to-morrow morning and clear it of all mud until it is 
as bright as a mirror, and fill it with every kind of fish." The 
next morning the King gave him a glass shovel and said, 
" The fish-pond must be done by six o'clock." So he went 
away, and when he came to the fish-pond he stuck his shovel 
in the mud and it broke in two, then he stuck his hoe in 
the mud, and broke it also. Then he was much troubled. 
At noon the youngest daughter brought him something to 
eat, and asked him how he was getting on? So the King's 
son said everything was going very ill with him, and he 
would certainly have to lose his head. " My tools have 
broken to pieces again." " Oh," said she, " thou must just 
come and eat something, and then thou wilt be in another 
frame of mind." " No," said he, " I cannot eat, I am far 
too unhappy for that ! " Then she gave him many good 
words until at last he came and ate something. Then she 
combed his hair again, and he fell asleep, so once more she 
took her handkerchief, tied a knot in it, and struck the 
ground thrice with the knot, and said, " Earth-workers, 
come forth." In a moment a great many little earth-men 
came and asked what she desired, and she told them that 
in three hours' time they must have the fish-pond entirely 
cleaned out, and it must be so clear that people could see 
themselves reflected in it, and every kind of fish must be in 
it. The little earth-men went away and summoned all their 
kindred to help them, and in two hours it was done. Then 
they returned to her and said, " We have done as thou hast 
commanded." The King's daughter took the handkerchief 
and once more struck thrice on the ground with it, and said, 
" Earth-workers, go home again." Then they all went away. 

When the King's son awoke the fish-pond was done. Then 
the King's daughter went away also, and told him that when 
it was six he was to come to the house. When he arrived 
at the house the King asked, "Hast thou got the fish-pond 
done ? " " Yes," said the King's son. That was very good. 

When they were again sitting at table the King said, 
" Thou hast certainly done the fish-pond, but I cannot give 
thee my daughter yet; thou must just do one thing more." 
"What is that, then?" asked the King's son. The King 
said he had a great mountain on which there was nothing 



212 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

but briars which must all be cut down, and at the top of it 
the youth must build up a great castle, which must be as 
strong as could be conceived, and all the furniture and fit- 
tings belonging to a castle must be inside it. And when 
he arose next morning the King gave him a glass axe and 
a glass gimlet with him, and he was to have all done by 
six o'clock. As he was cutting down the first briar with the 
axe, it broke off short, and so small that the pieces flew all 
round about, and he could not use the gimlet either. Then 
he was quite miserable, and waited for his dearest to see if 
she would not come and help him in his need. When it was 
mid-day she came and brought him something to eat. He 
went to meet her and told her all, and ate something, and 
let her comb his hair and fell asleep. Then she once more 
took the knot and struck the earth with it, and said, " Earth- 
workers, come forth ! " Then came once again numbers of 
earth-men, and asked what her desire was. Then said she, 
" In the space of three hours they must cut down the whole 
of the briars, and a castle must be built on the top of the 
mountain that must be as strong as any one could conceive, 
and all the furniture that pertains to a castle must be inside 
it. They went away, and summoned their kindred to help 
them and when the time was come, all was ready. Then 
they came to the King's daughter and told her so, and the 
King's daughter took her handkerchief and struck thrice 
on the earth with it, and said " Earth-workers, go home," 
on which they all disappeared. When therefore the King's 
son awoke and saw everything done, he was as happy as 
a bird in air. 

When it had struck six, they went home together. Then 
said the King, " Is the castle ready ? " *' Yes," said the 
King's son. When they sat down to table, the King said, 
" I cannot give away my youngest daughter until the two 
eldest are married." Then the King's son and the King's 
daughter were quite troubled, and the King's son had no idea 
what to do. But he went by night to the King's daughter 
and ran away with her. When they had got a little distance 
away, the King's daughter peeped round and saw her father 
behind her. " Oh," said she, " what are we to do ? My 
father is behind us, and will take us back with him. I will 



GRIMM'S TALES 213 

at once change thee into a briar, and myself into a rose, and 
I will shelter myself in the midst of the bush." When the 
father reached the place, there stood a briar with one rose 
on it, then he was about to gather the rose, when the thorn 
came and pricked his finger so that he was forced to go 
home again. His wife asked why he had not brought their 
daughter back with him? So he said he had nearly got up 
to her, but that all at once he had lost sight of her, and 
a briar with one rose was growing on the spot. 

Then said the Queen, " If thou hadst but gathered the 
rose, the briar would have been forced to come too." So 
he went back again to fetch the rose, but in the meantime 
the two were already far over the plain, and the King ran 
after them. Then the daughter once more looked round 
and saw her father coming, and said, " Oh, what shall we 
do now? I will instantly change thee into a church and 
myself into a priest, and I will stand up in the pulpit, and 
preach." When the King got to the place, there stood a 
church, and in the pulpit was a priest preaching. So he 
listened to the sermon, and then went home again. 

Then the Queen asked why he had not brought their 
daughter with him, and he said, *' Nay, I ran a long time 
after her, and just as I thought I should soon overtake her, 
a church was standing there and a priest was in the pulpit 
preaching." " Thou shouldst just have brought the priest," 
said his wife, " and then the church would soon have come. 
It is no use to send thee, I must go there myself." When 
she had walked for some time, and could see the two in the 
distance, the King's daughter peeped round and saw her 
mother coming, and said, " Now we are undone, for my 
mother is coming herself: I will immediately change thee 
into a fish-pond and myself into a fish." 

When the mother came to the place, there was a large 
fish-pond, and in the midst of it a fish was leaping about 
and peeping out of the water, and it was quite merry. She 
wanted to catch the fish but she could not. Then she was 
very angry, and drank up the whole pond in order to catch 
the fish, but it made her so ill that she was forced to vomit, 
and vomited the whole pond out again. Then she cried, 
" I see very well that nothing can be done now," and said 

HO XVII— N 



214 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

that now they might come back to her. Then the King's 
daughter went back again, and the Queen gave her daughter 
three walnuts, and said, " With these thou canst help thyself 
when thou art in thy greatest need." So the young folks 
went once more away together. And when they had walked 
quite ten miles they arrived at the castle from whence the 
King's son came, and close by it was a village. When they 
reached it, the King's son said, " Stay here, my dearest, I 
will just go to the castle, and then will I come with a car- 
riage and with attendants to fetch thee." 

When he got to the castle they all rejoiced greatly at 
having the King's son back again, and he told them he had 
a bride who was now in the village, and they must go with 
the carriage to fetch her. Then they harnessed the horses 
at once, and many attendants seated themselves outside the 
carriage. When the King's son was about to get in, his 
mother gave him a kiss, and he forgot everything which had 
happened, and also what he was about to do. On this his 
mother ordered the horses to be taken out of the carriage 
again, and every one went back into the house. But the 
maiden sat in the village and watched and watched, and 
thought he would come and fetch her, but no one came. 
Then the King's daughter took service in the mill which 
belonged to the castle, and was obliged to sit by the pond 
every afternoon and clean the tubs. And the Queen came 
one day on foot from the castle, and went walking by the 
pond, and saw the well-grown maiden sitting there, and said, 
" What a fine strong girl that is ! She pleases me well ! " 
Then she and all with her looked at the maid, but no one 
knew her. So a long time passed by during which the 
maiden served the miller honourably and faithfully. In the 
meantime, the Queen had sought a wife for her son, who 
came from quite a distant part of the world. When the bride 
came, they were at once to be married. And many people 
hurried together, all of whom wanted to see everything. 
Then the girl said to the miller that he might be so good 
as to give her leave to go also. So the miller said, " Yes, 
do go there." When she was about to go, she opened one 
of the three walnuts, and a beautiful dress lay inside it. She 
put it on, and went into the church and stood by the altar. 



GRIMM'S TALES 215 

Suddenly came the bride and bridegroom, and seated them- 
selves before the altar, and when the priest was just going 
to bless them, the bride peeped half round and saw the 
maiden standing there. Then she stood up again, and 
said she would not be given away until she also had as 
beautiful a dress as that lady there. So they went back to 
the house again, and sent to ask the lady if she would sell 
that dress. No, she would not sell it, but the bride might 
perhaps earn it. Then the bride asked her how she was to 
do this? Then the maiden said if she might sleep one night 
outside the King's son's door, the bride might have what she 
wanted. So the bride said, " Yes, she was to do that." But 
the servants were ordered to give the King's son a sleeping 
drink, and then the maiden laid herself down on the threshold 
and lamented all night long. She had had the forest cut 
down for him, she had had the fish-pond cleaned out for him, 
she had had the castle built for him, she had changed him 
into a briar, and then into a church, and at last into a fish- 
pond, and yet he had forgotten her so quickly. The King's 
son did not hear one word of it, but the servants had been 
awakened, and had listened to it, and had not known what 
it could mean. The next morning when they were all up, 
the bride put on the dress, and went away to the church 
with the bridegroom. In the meantime the maiden opened 
the second walnut, and a still more beautiful dress was 
inside it. She put it on, and went and stood by the altar 
in the church, and everything happened as it had happened 
the time before. And the maiden again lay all night on the 
threshold which led to the chamber of the King's son, and 
the servant was once more to give him a sleeping-drink. 
The servant, however, went to him and gave him something 
to keep him awake, and then the King's son went to bed, 
and the miller's maiden bemoaned herself as before on the 
threshold of the door, and told of all that she had done. 
All this the King's son heard, and was sore troubled, and 
what was passed came back to him. Then he wanted to 
go to her, but his mother had locked the door. The next 
morning, however, he went at once to his beloved, and told 
her everything which had happened to him, and prayed her 
not to be angry with him for having forgotten her. Then 



216 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

the King's daughter opened the third walnut, and within 
it was a still more magnificent dress, which she put on, and 
went with her bridegroom to church, and numbers of chil- 
dren came who gave them flowers, and offered them gay 
ribbons to bind about their feet, and they were blessed 
by the priest, and had a merry wedding. But the false 
mother and the bride had to depart. And the mouth of the 
person who last told all this is still warm. 



THE SEVEN SWABIANS 

Seven Swabians were once together., The first was 
Master Schuiz; the second. Jackli; the third, Marli; the 
fourth, Jergli; the fifth, Michal; the sixth, Hans; the 
seventh, Veitli; all seven had made up their minds to travel 
about the world to seek adventures, and perform great deeds. 
But in order that they might go in security and with arms 
in their hands, they thought it would be advisable that they 
should have one solitary, but very strong, and very long 
spear made for them. This spear all seven of them took 
in their hands at once; in front walked the boldest and 
bravest, and that was Master Schuiz ; all the others followed 
in a row, and Veitli was the last. Then it came to pass 
one day in the hay-making month (July), when they had 
walked a long distance, and still had a long way to go before 
they reached the village where they were to pass the night, 
that as they were in a meadow in the twilight a great 
beetle or hornet flew by them from behind a bush, and 
hummed in a menacing manner. Master Schuiz was so 
terrified that he all but dropped the spear, and a cold per- 
spiration broke out over his whole body. " Hark ! hark !" 
cried he to his comrades. " Good heavens ! I hear a drum." 
Jackli, who was behind him holding the spear, and who 
perceived some kind of a smell, said, " Something is most 
certainly going on, for I taste powder and matches." At 
these words Master Schuiz began to take to flight, and in 
a trice jumped over a hedge, but as he just happened to 
jump on to the teeth of a rake which had been left lying 
there after the hay-making, the handle of it struck against 



GRIMM'S TALES 217 

his face and gave him a tremendous blow. " Oh dear ! Oh 
dear ! " screamed Master Schulz. " Take me prisoner ; I 
surrender ! I surrender ! " The other six all leapt over, one 
on the top of the other, crying, "If you surrender, I sur- 
render too ! If you surrender, I surrender too ! " At length, 
as no enemy was there to bind and take them away, they saw 
that they had been mistaken, and in order that the story 
might not be known, and they be treated as fools and ridi- 
culed, they all swore to each other to hold their peace about 
it until one of them accidently spoke of it. 

Then they journeyed onwards. The second danger which 
they survived cannot be compared with the first. Some 
days afterwards, their path led them through a fallow- 
field where a hare was sitting sleeping in the sun. Her 
ears were standing straight up, and her great glassy eyes 
were wide open. All of them were alarmed at the sight 
of the horrible wild beast^ and they consulted together as to 
what it would be the least dangerous to do. For if they 
were to run away, they knew that the monster would pursue 
and swallow them whole. So they said, "We must go 
through a great and dangerous struggle. Boldly ventured, 
is half won," and all seven grasped the spear, Master Schulz 
in front, and Veitli behind. Master Schulz was always 
trying to keep the spear back, but Veitli had become quite 
brave while behind, and wanted to dash forward and cried, 

"Strike home, in every Swabian's name, 
Or else I wish ye may be lame." 

But Hans knew how to meet this, and said, 

"Thunder and lightning, it's fine to prate, 
But for dragon-hunting thou'rt aye too late." 

Michal cried, 

"Nothing is wanting, not even a hair, 
Be sure the Devil himself is there." 

Then it was Jergli's turn to speak, 

"If it be not, it's at least his mother. 
Or else it's the Devil's own step-brother." 



218 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

And now Marli had a bright thought, and said to Veitli, 

"Advance, Veitli, advance, advance, 
And I behind will hold the lance." 

Veitli, however, did not attend to that, and Jackli said, 

"■ 'Tis Schulz's place the first to be, 
No one deserves that honour but he." 

Then Master Schulz plucked up his courage, and said, 
gravely, 

"Then let us boldly advance to the fight. 
And thus we shall show our valour and might." 

Hereupon they all together set on the dragon. Master 
Schulz crossed himself, and prayed for God's assistance, 
but as all this was of no avail, and he was getting nearer 
and nearer to the enemy, he screamed " Oho ! Oho ! ho ! 
ho! ho!" in the greatest anguish. This awakened the hare, 
which in great alarm darted swiftly away. When Master 
Schulz saw her thus flying from the field of battle, he cried 
in his joy. 

"Quick, Veitli, quick, look there, look there. 
The monster's nothing but a hare !" 

But the Swabian allies went in search of further ad- 
ventures, and came to the Moselle, a mossy, quiet, deep 
river, over which there are few bridges, and which in 
many places people have to cross in boats. As the seven 
Swabians did not know this, they called to a man who was 
working on the opposite side of the river, to know how 
people contrived to get across. The distance and their way 
of speaking made the man unable to understand what they 
wanted, and he said "What? what?" in the way people 
speak in the neighbourhood of Treves. Master Schulz 
thought he was saying, " Wade, wade through the water," 
and as he was the first, began to set out and went into the 
Moselle. It was not long before he sank in the mud and 
the deep waves which drove against him, but his hat was 
blown on the opposite shore by the wind, and a frog sat 
down beside it and croaked " Wat, wat, wat." The other 
six on the opposite side heard that, and said, " Oho, com- 
rades. Master Schulz is calling us; if he can wade across, 
why cannot we?" So they all jumped into the water 



GRIMM'S TALES 219 

together in a great hurry, and were drowned, and thus 
one frog took the lives of all six of them, and not one 
of the Swabian allies ever reached home again. 



ONE-EYE, TWO-EYES, AND THREE-EYES 

There was once a woman who had three daughters, the 
eldest of whom was called One-eye, because she had only 
one eye in the middle of her forehead, and the second. Two- 
eyes, because she had two eyes like other folks, and the 
youngest. Three-eyes, because she had three eyes; and 
her third eye was also in the centre of her forehead. 
However, as Two-eyes saw just as other human beings did, 
her sisters and her mother could not endure her. They 
said to her, "Thou, with thy two eyes, art no better than 
the common people ; thou dost not belong to us ! " They 
pushed her about, and threw old clothes to her, and gave 
her nothing to eat but what they left, and did everything 
that they could to make her unhappy. It came to pass 
that Two-eyes had to go out into the fields and tend the goat, 
but she was still quite hungry, because her sisters had given 
her so little to eat. So she sat down^on a ridge and began 
to weep, and so bitterly that two streams ran down from her 
eyes. And once when she looked up in her grief, a woman 
was standing beside her, who said, " Why art thou weeping, 
little Two-eyes ? '* Two-eyes answered, " Have I not reason 
to weep, when I have two eyes like other people, and my 
sisters and mother hate me for it, and push me from one 
corner to another, throw old clothes at me, and give me 
nothing to eat but the scraps they leave? To-day they have 
given me so little that I am still quite hungry." Then the 
wise woman said, " Wipe away thy tears. Two-eyes, and I 
will tell thee something to stop thee ever suffering from him- 
ger again; just say to thy goat, 

"Bleat, my little goat, bleat, 
Cover the table with something to eat," 

and then a clean well-spread little table will stand before 
thee, with the most delicious food upon it of which thou 



220 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

mayest eat as much as thou art Inclined for, atid when 
thou hast had enough, and hast no more need of the Httle 
table, just say, 

" Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray. 
And take the table quite away," 

and then it will vanish again from thy sight." Hereupon 
the wise woman departed. But Two-eyes thought, " I 
must instantly make a trial, and see if what she said is 
true, for I am far too hungry," and she said, 

" Bleat, my little goat, bleat, 
Cover the table with something to eat," 

and scarcely had she spoken the words than a little table, 
covered with a white cloth, was standing there, and on it 
was a plate with a knife and fork, and a silver spoon ; and 
the most delicious food was there also, warm and smoking 
as if it had just come out of the kitchen. Then Two-eyes 
said the shortest prayer she knew, " Lord God, be with us 
always. Amen," and helped herself to some food, and 
enjoyed it. And when she was satisfied, she said, as the 
wise woman had taught her, 

" Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray. 
And take the table quite away," 

and immediately the little table and everything on it was 
gone again. " This is a delightful way of keeping house ! " 
thought Two-eyes, and was quite glad and happy. 

In the evening, when she went home with her goat, she 
found a small earthenware dish, with some food, which her 
sisters had set ready for her, but she did not touch it. 
Next day she again went out with her goat, and left the 
few bits of broken bread which had been handed to her, 
lying untouched. The first and second time that she did 
this, her sisters did not remark it at all, but as it happened 
every time, they did observe it, and said, " There is some- 
thing wrong about Two-eyes, she always leaves her food 
untasted, and she used to eat up everything that was given 
her; she must have discovered other ways of getting food." 
In order that they might learn the truth, they resolved to 



GRIMM'S TALES 221 

send One-eye with Two-eyes when she went to drive her 
goat to the pasture, to observe what Two-eyes did when 
she was there, and whether any one brought her anything 
to eat and drink. So when Two-eyes set out the next 
time, One-eye went to her and said, " I will go with you to 
the pasture, and see that the goat is well taken care of, 
and driven where there is food." But Two-eyes knew what 
was in One-eye's mind, and drove the goat into high grass 
and said, "Come, One-eye, we will sit down, and I will 
sing something to you." One-eye sat down and was tired 
with the unaccustomed walk and the heat of the sun, and 
Two-eyes sang constantly, 

♦•One eye, wakest thou? 
One eye, sleepest thou ? " 

until One-eye shut her one eye, and fell asleep, and as 
soon as Two-eyes saw that One-eye was fast asleep, and 
could discover nothing, she said, 

"Bleat, my little goat, bleat, 
Cover the table with something to eat," 

and seated herself at her table, and ate and drank until 
she was satisfied, and then she again cried, 

"Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray, 
And take the table quite away," 

and in an instant all was gone. Two-eyes now awakened 
One-eye, and said, " One-eye, you want to take care of the 
goat, and go to sleep while you are doing it, and in the 
meantime the goat might run all over the world. Come, let 
us go home again." So they went home, and again Two-eyes 
let her little dish stand untouched, and One-eye could not 
tell her mother why she would not eat it, and to excuse 
herself said, " I fell asleep when I was out." 

Next day the mother said to Three-eyes, " This time thou 
shalt go and observe if Two-eyes eats anything when she is 
out, and if any one fetches her food and drink, for she must 
eat and drink in secret." So Three-eyes went to Two-eyes, 
and said, " I will go with you and see if the goat is taken 
proper care of, and driven where there is food." But Two- 



222 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

eyes knew what was in Three-eyes' mind, and drove the 
goat into high grass and said, " We will sit down, and I will 
sing something to you, Three-eyes." Three-eyes sat down 
and was tired with the walk and with the heat of the sun, 
and Two-eyes began the same song as before, and sang, 

"Three eyes, are you waking?" 
but then, instead of singing, 

" Three eyes, are you sleeping ? " 
as she ought to have done, she thoughtlessly sang, 

" Two eyes, are you sleeping ? " 
and sang all the time, 

*♦ Three eyes, are you waking ? 
Two eyes, are you sleeping?'* 

Then two of the eyes which Three-eyes had, shut and fell 
asleep, but the third, as it had not been named in the song, 
did not sleep. It is true that Three-eyes shut it, but only in her 
cunning, to . pretend it was asleep too, but it blinked, and 
could see everything very well. And when Two-eyes 
thought that Three-eyes was fast asleep she used her little 
charm, 

•' Bleat, my little goat, bleat, 
Cover the table with something to eat,'* 

and ate and drank as much as her heart desired, and then 
ordered the table to go away again, 

" Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray, 
And take the table quite away,** 

and Three-eyes had seen everything. Then Two-eyes came 
to her, waked her and said, " Have you been asleep. Three- 
eyes? You are a good care-taker! Come, we will go 
home." And when they got home, Two-eyes again did not 
eat, and Three-eyes said to the mother, " Now, I know why 
that high-minded thing there does not eat. When she is 
out, she says to the goat, 

"Bleat, my little goat, bleat, 
Cover the table with something to eat," 



GRIMM'S TALES 223 

and then a little table appears before her covered with 
the best of food, much better than any we have here, and 
when she has eaten all she wants, she says, 

"Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray. 
And take the table quite away," 

and all disappears. I watched everything closely. She put 
two of my eyes to sleep by using a certain form of words, 
but luckly the one in my forehead kept awake." Then the 
envious mother cried, "Dost thou want to fare better than 
we do? The desire shall pass a.way," and she fetched a 
butcher's knife, and thrust it into the heart of the goat, 
which fell down dead. 

When Two-eyes saw that, she went out full of trouble, 
seated herself on the ridge of grass at the edge of the field 
and wept bitter tears. Suddenly the wise woman once 
more stood by her side, and said, " Two-eyes, why art thou 
weeping?" ''Have I not reason to weep?" she answered. 
" The goat which covered the table for me every day when 
I spoke your charm, has been killed by my mother, and now 
I shall again have to bear hunger and want." The wise 
woman said, " Two-eyes, I will give thee a piece of good 
advice; ask thy sisters to give thee the entrails of the 
slaughtered goat, and bury them in the ground in front of 
the house, and thy fortune will be made." Then she van- 
ished, and Two-eyes went home and said to her sisters, 
" Dear sisters, do give me some part of my goat ; I don't 
wish for what is good, but give me the entrails." Then they 
laughed and said, " If that's all you want, you can have it." 
So Two-eyes took the entrails and buried them quietly in 
the evening, in front of the house-door, as the wise woman 
had counselled her to do. 

Next morning, when they all awoke, and went to the house- 
door, there stood a strangely magnificent tree with leaves 
of silver, and fruit of gold hanging among them, so that 
in all the wide world there was nothing more beautiful or 
precious. They did not know how the tree could have come 
there during the night, but Two-eyes saw that it had grown 
up out of the entrails of the goat, for it was standing on 
the exact spot where she had buried them. Then the mother 



224 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

said to One-eye, " Climb up, my child, and gather some of 
the fruit of the tree for us." One-eye climbed up, but when 
she was about to get hold of one of the golden apples, the 
branch escaped from her hands, and that happened each time, 
so that she could not pluck a single apple, let her do what 
she might. Then said the mother, "Three-eyes, do you 
climb up ; you with your three eyes can look about you better 
than One-eye. One-eye slipped down, and Three-eyes climbed 
up. Three-eyes was not more skilful, and might search 
as she liked, but the golden apples always escaped her. At 
length the mother grew impatient, and climbed up herself, 
but could get hold of the fruit no better than One-eye and 
Three-eyes, for she always clutched empty air. Then said 
Two-eyes, " I will just go up, perhaps I may succeed bet- 
ter." The sisters cried, " You indeed, with your two eyes, 
what can you do ? " But Two-eyes climbed up, and the 
golden apples did not get out of her way, but came into 
her hand of their own accord, so that she could pluck them 
one after the other, and brought a whole apron ful down 
with her. The mother took them away from her, and 
instead of treating poor Two-eyes any better for this, she 
and One-eye and Three-eyes were only envious, because 
Two-eyes alone had been able to get the fruit, and they 
treated her still more cruelly. 

It so befell that once when they were all standing to- 
gether by the tree, a young knight came up. " Quick, Two- 
eyes," cried the two sisters, " creep under this, and don't 
disgrace us ! " and with all speed they turned an empty 
barrel which was standing close by the tree over poor Two- 
eyes, and they pushed the golden apples which she had 
been gathering, under it too. When the knight came nearer 
he was a handsome lord, who stopped and admired the mag- 
nificent gold and silver tree, and said to the two sisters, " To 
whom does this fine tree belong? Any one who would 
bestow one branch of it on me might in return for it ask 
whatsoever he desired." Then One-eye and Three-eyes 
replied that the tree belonged to them, and that they would 
give him a branch. They both took great trouble, but they 
were not able to do it, for the branches and fruit both 
moved away from them every time. Then said the knight, 



GRIMM'S TALES 225 

"It is very strange that the tree should belong to you, 
and that you should still not be able to break a piece off." 
They again asserted that the tree was their property. Whilst 
they were saying so, Two-eyes rolled out a couple of golden 
apples from under the barrel to the feet of the knight, for 
she was vexed with One-eye and Three-eyes, for not speak- 
ing the truth. When the knight saw the apples he was 
astonished, and asked where they came from. One-eye and 
Three-eyes answered that they had another sister, who was 
not allowed to show herself, for she had only two eyes 
like any common person. The knight, however, desired to 
see her, and cried, " Two-eyes, come forth." Then Two- 
eyes, quite comforted, came from beneath the barrel, and 
the knight was surprised at her great beauty, and said, 
" Thou, Two-eyes, canst certainly break off a branch from 
the tree for me." " Yes," replied Two-eyes, " that I certainly 
shall be able to do, for the tree belongs to me." And she 
climbed up, and with the greatest ease broke off a branch 
with beautiful silver leaves and golden fruit, and gave it 
to the knight. Then said the knight, " Two-eyes, what shall 
I give thee for it ? " " Alas ! " answered Two-eyes, " I 
suffer from hunger and thirst, grief and want, from early 
morning till late night; if you would take me with you, 
and deliver me from these things, I should be happy." So 
the knight lifted Two-eyes on to his horse, and took her 
home with him to his father's castle, and there he gave 
her beautiful clothes and meat and drink to her heart's 
content, and as he loved her so much he married her, and 
the wedding was solemnized with great rejoicing. When 
Two-eyes was thus carried away by the handsome knight, 
her two sisters grudged her good fortune in downright 
earnest. " The wonderful tree, however, still remains with 
us," thought they, " and even if we can gather no fruit from 
it, still every one will stand still and look at it, and come 
to us and admire it. Who knows what good things may 
be in store for us?" But next morning, the tree had 
vanished, and all their hopes were at an end. And when 
Two-eyes looked out of the window of her own little room 
to her great delight it was standing in front of it, and so 
it had followed her. 



226 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

Two-eyes lived a long time in happiness. Once two poor 
women came to her in her castle, and begged for alms. 
She looked in their faces, and recognized her sisters, One- 
eye, and Three-eyes, who had fallen into such poverty that 
they had to wander about and beg their bread from door 
to door. Two-eyes, however, made them welcome, and was 
kind to them, and took care of them, so that they both with 
all their hearts repented the evil that they had done their 
sister in their youth. 



SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED 

There was once a poor widow who lived in a lonely cottage. 
In front of the cottage was a garden wherein stood two rose- 
trees, one of which bore white and the other red roses. She 
had two children who were like the two rose-trees, and one 
was called Snow-white and the other Rose-red. They were as 
good and happy, as busy and cheerful, as ever two children in 
the world were, only Snow-white was more quiet and gentle 
than Rose-Red. Rose-Red liked better to run about in the 
meadows and fields seeking flowers and catching butterflies; 
but Snow-white sat at home with her mother, and helped her 
with her house-work, or read to her when there was nothing 
to do. 

The two children were so fond of each other that they" 
always held each other by the hand when they went out 
together, and when Snow-white said, "We will not leave each 
other," Rose-red answered, "Never so long as we live," and 
their mother would add, "What one has she must share with 
the other." 

They often ran about the forest alone and gathered red 
berries, and no beasts did them any harm, but came close to 
them trustfully. The little hare would eat a cabbage-leaf out 
of their hands, the roe grazed by their side, the stag leapt 
merrily by them, and the birds sat still upon the boughs, and 
sang whatever they knew. 

No mishap overtook them; if they had stayed too late in 
the forest and night came on, they laid themselves down 
near one another upon the moss, and slept until morning 



GRIMM'S TALES 227 

came, and their mother knew this and had no distress on 
their account. 

Once when they had spent the night in the wood and the 
dawn had roused them, they saw a beautiful child in a shining 
white dress sitting near their bed. He got up and looked quite 
kindly at them, but said nothing and went away into the 
forest. And when they looked round they found that they 
had been sleeping quite close to a precipice, and would cer- 
tainly have fallen into it in the darkness if they had gone 
only a few paces further. And their mother told them that it 
must have been the angel who watches over good children. 

Snow-white and Rose-red kept their mother's little cottage 
so neat that it was a pleasure to look inside it. In the sum- 
mer Rose-red took care of the house, and every morning laid 
a wreath of flowers by her mother's bed before she awoke, in 
which was a rose from each tree. In the winter Snow-white 
lit the fire and hung the kettle on the wrekin. The kettle was 
of copper and shone like gold, so brightly was it polished. In 
the evening, when the snowflakes fell, the mother said, "Go, 
Snow-white, and bolt the door," and then they sat round the 
hearth, and the mother took her spectacles and read aloud 
out of a large book, and the two girls listened as they sat and 
span. And close by them lay a lamb upon the floor, and 
behind them upon a perch sat a white dove with its head hid- 
den beneath its wings. 

One evening, as they were thus sitting comfortably to- 
gether, some one knocked at the door, as if he wished to be let 
in. The mother said, "Quick, Rose-red, open the door, it must 
be a traveller who is seeking shelter." Rose-red went and 
pushed back the bolt, thinking that it was a poor man, but it 
was not; it was a bear that stretched his broad, black head 
within the door. 

Rose-red screamed and sprang back, the lamb bleated, the 
dove fluttered, and Snow-white hid herself behind her 
mother's bed. But the bear began to speak and said, "Do not 
be afraid, I will do you no harm ! I am half-frozen, and only 
want to warm myself a little beside you." 

"Poor bear," said the mother, "lie down by the fire, only 
take care that you do not burn your coat." Then she cried, 
"Snow-white, Rose-red, come out, the bear will do you no 



228 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

harm, he means well." So they both came out, and by-and-by 
the lamb and dove came nearer, and were not afraid of him. 
The bear said, "Here, children, knock the snow out of my 
coat a little ;" so they brought the broom and swept the bear's 
hide clean; and he stretched himself by the fire and growled 
contentedly and comfortably. It was not long before they 
grew quite at home, and played tricks with their clumsy guest. 
They tugged his hair with their hands, put their feet upon 
his back and rolled him about, or they took a hazel-switch 
and beat him, and when he growled they laughed. But the 
bear took it all in good part, only when they were too 
rough he called out, "Leave me alive, children, 

"Snowy-white, Rosy-red, 
Will you beat your lover dead?" 

When it was bed-time, and the others went to bed, the 
mother said to the bear, "You can lie there by the hearth, 
and then you will be safe from the cold and the bad weather." 
As soon as day dawned the two children let him out, and 
he trotted across the snow into the forest. 

Henceforth the bear came every evening at the same time, 
laid himself down by the hearth, and let the children amuse 
themselves with him as much as they liked; and they 
got so used to him that the doors were never fastened until 
their black friend had arrived. 

When spring had come and all outside was green, the bear 
said one morning to Snow-white, "Now I must go away, and 
cannot come back for the whole summer." "Where are you 
going, then, dear bear?" asked Snow-white. "I must go into 
the forest and guard my treasures from the wicked dwarfs. 
In the winter, when the earth is frozen hard, they are obliged 
to stay below and cannot work their way through; but now, 
when the sun has thawed and warmed the earth, they break 
through it, and come out to pry and steal ; and what once gets 
into their hands, and in their caves, does not easily see day- 
light again." 

Snow-white was quite sorry for his going away, and as she 
unbolted the door for him, and the bear was hurrying out, 
he caught against the bolt and a piece of his hairy coat was 
torn off, and it seemed to Snow-white as if she had seen gold 



GRIMM'S TALES 229 

shining through it, but she was not sure about it. The bear 
ran away quickly, and was soon out of sight behind the trees. 

A short time afterwards the mother sent her children into 
the forest to get fire-wood. There they found a big tree 
which lay felled on the ground, and close by the trunk some- 
thing was jumping backwards and forwards in the grass, but 
they could not make out what it was. When they came nearer 
they saw a dwarf with an old withered face and a snow-white 
beard a yard long. The end of the beard was caught in a 
crevice of the tree, and the little fellow was jumping back- 
wards and forwards like a dog tied to a rope, and did not 
know what to do. 

He glared at the girls with his fiery red eyes and cried, 
"Why do you stand there ? Can you not come here and help 
me ? " " What are you about there, little man ? " asked Rose- 
red. "You stupid, prying goose!" answered the dwarf; "I 
was going to split the tree to get a little wood for cooking. 
The little bit of food that one of us wants gets burnt up 
directly with thick logs; we do not swallow so much as you 
coarse, greedy folk. I had just driven the wedge safely in, 
and everything was going as I wished; but the wretched 
wood was too smooth and suddenly sprang asunder, and the 
tree closed so quickly that I could not pull out my beautiful 
white beard ; so now it is tight in and I cannot get away, and 
the silly, sleek, milk-faced things laugh ! Ugh ! how odious 
you are !" 

The children tried very hard, but they could not pull the 
beard out, it was caught too fast. *T will run and fetch some 
one," said Red-rose. "You senseless goose !" snarled the 
dwarf; "why should you fetch some one? You are already 
two too many for me; can you not think of something bet- 
ter ? " " Don't be too impatient," said Snow-white, " I will 
help you," and she pulled her scissors out of her pocket, and 
cut off the end of the beard. 

As soon as the dwarf felt himself free he laid hold of a 
bag which lay amongst the roots of the tree, and which was 
full of gold, and lifted it up, grumbling to himself, "Uncouth 
people, to cut off a piece of my fine beard. Bad luck to you !" 
and then he swung the bag upon his back, and went off with- 
out even once looking at the children. 

HC XVII — o 



230 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

Some time after that Snow-white and Rose-red went to 
catch a dish of fish. As they came near the brook they saw 
something like a large grasshopper jumping towards the 
water, as if it were going to leap in. They ran to it and 
found it was the dwarf. "Where are you going ?" said Rose- 
red; "you surely don't want to go into the water?" "I am 
not such a fool!" cried the dwarf; "don't you see that the 
accursed fish wants to pull me in ? " The little man had been 
sitting there fishing, and unluckily the wind had twisted his 
beard with the fishing-line; just then a big fish bit, and the 
feeble creature had not the strength to pull it out; the fish 
kept the upper hand and pulled the dwarf towards him. He 
held on to all the reeds and rushes, but it was of little good, 
he was forced to follow the movements of the fish, and was 
in urgent danger of being dragged into the water. 

The girls came just in time; they held him fast and tried 
to free his beard from the line, but all in vain, beard and line 
were entangled fast together. Nothing was left but to bring 
out the scissors and cut the beard, whereby a small part of it 
was lost. 

When the dwarf saw . that he screamed out, " Is that 
civil, you toad-stool, to disfigure one's face? Was it not 
enough to clip off the end of my beard? Now you have cut 
off the best part of it. I cannot let myself be seen by my 
people. I wish you had been made to run the soles off your 
shoes !" Then he took out a sack of pearls which lay in the 
rushes, and without saying a word more he dragged it away 
and disappeared behind a stone. 

It happened that soon afterwards the mother sent the two 
children to the town to buy needles and thread, and laces and 
ribbons. The road led them across a heath upon which huge 
pieces of rock lay strewn here and there. Now they noticed 
a large bird hovering in the air, flying slowly round and 
round above them ; it sank lower and lower, and at last settled 
near a rock not far off. Directly afterwards they heard a 
loud, piteous cry. They ran up and saw with horror that the 
eagle had seized their old acquaintance the dwarf, and was 
going to carry him off. 

The children, full of pity, at once took tight hold of the 
little man, and pulled against the eagle so long that at last 



GRIMM'S TALES 231 

he let his booty go. As soon as the dwarf had recovered 
from his first fright he cried with his shrill voice, "Could you 
not have done it more carefully? You dragged at my 
brown coat so that it is all torn and full of holes, you help- 
less clumsy creatures ! " Then he took up a sack full of 
precious stones and slipped away again under the rock into 
his hole. The girls, who by this time were used to his 
thanklessness, went on their way and did their business in 
the town. 

As they crossed the heath again on their way home they 
surprised the dwarf, who had emptied out his bag of precious 
stones in a clean spot, and had not thought that any one would 
come there so late. The evening sun shone upon the brilliant 
stones ; they glittered and sparkled with all colours so beauti- 
fully that the children stood still and looked at them. "Why 
do you Stand gaping there?" cried the dwarf, and his ashen- 
grey face became copper-red with rage. He was going on 
with his bad words when a loud growling was heard, and a 
black bear came trotting towards them out of the forest. The 
dwarf sprang up in a fright, but he could not get to his cave, 
for the bear was already close. Then in the dread of his heart 
he cried, "Dear Mr. Bear, spare me, I will give you all my 
treasures; look, the beautiful jewels lying there! Grant 
me my life; what do you want with such a slender little 
fellow as I? you would not feel me between your teeth. 
Come, take these two wicked girls, they are tender mor- 
sels for you, fat as young quails; for mercy's sake eat 
them ! " The bear took no heed of his words, but gave 
the wicked creature a single blow with his paw, and he 
did not move again. 

The girls had run away, but the bear called to them, "Snow- 
white and Rose-red, do not be afraid ; wait, I will come with 
you." Then they knew his voice and waited, and when he 
came up to them suddenly his bearskin fell off, and he stood 
there a handsome man, clothed all in gold. "I am a King's 
son," he said, "and I was bewitched by that wicked dwarf, 
who had stolen my treasures; I have had to run about the 
forest as a savage bear until I was freed by his death. Now 
he has got his well-deserved punishment." 

Snow-white was married to him, and Rose-red to his 



232 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

brother, and they divided between them the great treasure 
which the dwarf had gathered together in his cave. The old 
mother Hved peacefully and happily with her children for 
many years. She took the two rose-trees with her, and they 
stood before her window, and every year bore the most beau- 
tiful roses, white and red. 



TALES FROM 
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

Hans Christian Andersen was horn in Odense, Denmark, 
April 2y 1805. He was the son of a poor cobbler who died when 
Hans was eleven; and after a meager schooling he went to Copen- 
hagen at the age of fourteen in the hope of finding employment 
in the theater. Here after much discouragement and hardship he 
finally found patrons who kept him from starving, and arranged 
for his regular education at the government's expense. His lit- 
erary career began in 1829 with hvs humorous extravaganza, "A 
Journey on Foot from Holm Canal to the East Point of Amager," 
which was followed by plays, poems, and descriptions of travel, 
and in 1835 by his first novel, "The Improvisator e," which was an 
immediate success. In the same year he found his real forte in 
the first volume of his "Fairy Tales" (Eventyr), but neither he 
nor the general public recognised this at first. Those critics who 
condescended to consider them at all were troubled about their 
lack of clear moral teaching and their colloquial style; but chil- 
dren liked them from the beginning. 

While the Tales, added to year by year, were gradually finding 
their public, Andersen continued his writing of novels in his 
"O. T." and 'Only a Fiddler"; of plays in his "Mulatto" and 
many others; of travels in his ''Author's Bazaar," "In Sweden," 
and "In Spain" ; of poetry in his epic, "Ahasuerus," and many 
lyrics. His reputation spread far beyond Denmark and in the 
many countries he visited he was enthusiastically received. He 
died full of honors in August, 1875. 

As a man Andersen was vain and sentimental, and he suffered 
more from his mortified vanity than from his actual hardships. 
The stories which have made his name a household word he 
underestimated, and strove after a dramatic success for which he 
was temperamentally unfitted. 

Oddly enough, he was not particularly fond of children, though 
he had an extraordinary capacity for amusing them; and it was 
this gift that led a friend to suggest his writing down the stories 
which he invented for their entertainment. Many of the tales 
are based on folk-lore, many are purely his own imaginings, but 
all are told with a quaintness, humor, and fancy that have given 
the author a place by himself in letters. 

234 



CONTENTS 

ANDERSEN'S TALES— 

PAGB 

The Ugly Duckling 237 

The Swineherd 246 

The Emperor's New Clothes 251 

The Little Sea-Maid 255 

The Elfin Mound 276 

The Wild Swans 283 

The Garden of Paradise 298 

The Constant Tin Soldier 312 

The Daisy 316 

V The Nightingale 320 

The Storks 329 

The Darning-needle 334 

The Shadow 337 

The Red Shoes 349 

Little Ida's Flowers 355 

The Angel z^^ 

The Flying Trunk 364 

The Tinder-Box 370 

The Buckwheat 2i?7 

The Bell 378 



235 



FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

ANDERSEN'S TALES 

THE UGLY DUCKLING 

IT WAS so glorious out in the country ; it was summer ; the 
corn-fields were yellow, the oats were green, the hay had 
been put up in stacks in the green meadows, and the stork 
went about on his long red legs, and chattered Egyptian, for 
this was the language he had learned from his good mother. 
All around the fields and meadows were great forests, and in 
the midst of these forests lay deep lakes. Yes, it was right 
glorious out in the country. In the midst of the sunshine 
there lay an old farm, with deep canals about it, and from the 
wall down to the water grew great burdocks, so high that 
little children could stand upright under the loftiest of them. 
It was just as wild there as in the deepest wood, and here 
sat a Duck upon her nest; she had to hatch her ducklings; 
but she was almost tired out before the little ones came; 
and then she so seldom had visitors. The other ducks liked 
better to swim about in the canals than to run up to sit 
down under a burdock, and cackle with her. 

At last one egg-shell after another burst open. " Piep ! 
Piep ! " it cried, and in all the eggs there were little creatures 
that stuck out their heads. 

" Quack ! quack ! " they said ; and they all came quacking 
out as fast as they could, looking all around them under the 
green leaves ; and the mother let them look as much as they 
chose, for green is good for the eye. 

" How wide the world is ! " said all the young ones, for 
they certainly had much more room now than when they 
were in the eggs. 

"D'ye think this is all the world?" said the mother. 
" That stretches far across the other side of the garden, quite 
into the parson's field; but I have never been there yet. I 

237 



238 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

hope you are all together," and she stood up. " No, I have 
not all. The largest egg still lies there. How long is that 
to last ? I am really tired of it." And she sat down again. 

" Well, how goes it ? " asked an old Duck who had come to 
pay her a visit. 

" It lasts a long time with that one egg," said the Duck 
who sat there. " It will not burst. Now, only look at the 
others ; are they not the prettiest little ducks one could pos- 
sibly see ? They are all like their father : the rogue, he never 
comes to see me." 

" Let me see the egg which will not burst," said the old 
visitor. " You may be sure it is a turkey's egg. I was once 
cheated in that way, and had much anxiety and trouble with 
the young ones, for they are afraid of the water. Must I say 
it to you, I could not get them to venture in. I quacked and 
I clacked, but it was no use. Let me see the egg. Yes, that's 
a turkey's egg. Let it lie there, and teach the other children 
to swim." 

" I think I will sit on it a little longer," said the Duck. 
" I've sat so long now that I can sit a few days more." 

"Just as you please," said the old Duck; and she went 
away. 

At last the great egg burst. " Piep ! piep ! " said the little 
one, and crept forth. It was very large and very ugly. The 
Duck looked at it. 

" It's a very large duckling," said she ; " none of the others 
look like that: can it really be a turkey chick? Well, we 
shall soon find out. It must go into the water, even if I have 
to thrust it in myself." 

The next day, it was bright, beautiful weather; the sun 
shone on all the green trees. The Mother-Duck went down 
to the canal with all her family. Splash ! she jumped into 
the water. "Quack ! quack ! " she said, and one duckling after 
another plunged in. The water closed over their heads, but 
they came up in an instant, and swam capitally; their legs 
went of themselves, and they were all in the water. The 
ugly gray Duckling swam with them. 

" No,' it's not a turkey," said she ; " look how well it can 
use its legs, and how straight it holds itself. It is my own 
child! On the whole it's quite pretty, if one looks at it 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 239 

rightly. Quack ! quack ! come with me, and I'll lead you out 
into the great world, and present you in the duck-yard ; but 
keep close to me, so that no one may tread on you, and take 
care of the cats ! " 

And so they came into the duck-yard. There was a ter- 
rible riot going on in there, for two families were quarreling 
about an eel's head, and the cat got it after all. 

" See, that's how it goes in the world ! " said the Mother- 
Duck; and she whetted her beak, for she too wanted 
the eel's head. " Only use your legs," she said. " See that 
you can bustle about, and bow your heads before the old 
Duck yonder. She's the grandest of all here; she's of 
Spanish blood — that's why she's so fat; and d'ye see? she 
has a red rag round her leg; that's something particularly 
fine, and the greatest distinction a duck can enjoy: it signi- 
fies that one does not want to lose her, and that she's to be 
known by the animals and by men too. Shake yourselves — 
don't turn in your toes; a well-brought-up duck turns its 
toes quite out, just like father and mother, — so! Now 
bend your necks and say * Quack ! ' " 

And they did so : but the other ducks round about looked 
at them, and said quite boldly, — 

" Look there ! now we're to have these hanging on, as if 
there were not enough of us already ! And — ^fie ! — how that 
Duckling yonder looks ; we won't stand that ! " And one 
duck flew up at it, and bit it in the neck. 

" Let it alone," said the mother ; " it does no harm to any 
one." 

" Yes, but it's too large and peculiar," said the Duck who 
had bitten it ; " and therefore it must be put down." 

" Those are pretty children that the mother has there," 
said the old Duck with the rag round her leg. " They're all 
pretty but that one; that was rather unlucky. I wish she 
could bear it over again." 

" That cannot be done, my lady," replied the Mother-Duck. 
" It is not pretty, but it has a really good disposition, and 
swims as well as any other; yes, I may even say it swims 
better. I think it will grow up pretty, and become smaller 
in time ; it has lain too long in the egg, and therefore is not 
properly shaped." And then she pinched it in the neck, and 



240 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

smoothed its feathers. " Moreover it is a drake/' she said, 
" and therefore it is not of so much consequence. I think he 
will be very strong: he makes his way already." 

" The other ducklings are graceful enough," said the old 
Duck. "Make yourself at home; and if you find an eel's 
head, you may bring it me." 

And now they were at home. But the poor Duckling 
which had crept last out of the egg, and looked so ugly, was 
bitten and pushed and jeered, as much by the ducks as by 
the chickens. 

" It is too big ! " they all said. And the turkey-cock, who 
had been born with the spurs, and therefore thought him- 
self an emperor, blew himself up like a ship in full sail, and 
bore straight down upon it ; then he gobbled and grew quite 
red in the face. The poor Duckling did not know where it 
should stand or walk; it was quite melancholy because it 
looked ugly, and was the butt of the whole duck-yard. 

So it went on the first day ; and afterwards it became worse 
and worse. The poor Duckling was hunted about by every 
one; even its brothers and sisters were quite angry with it, 
and said, "If the cat would only catch you, you ugly 
creature ! " And the mother said, "If you were only far 
away ! " And the ducks bit it, and the chickens beat it, and 
the girl who had to feed the poultry kicked at it with 
her foot. 

Then it ran and flew over the fence, and the little birds 
in the bushes flew up in fear. 

" That is because I am so ugly ! " thought the Duck- 
ling; and it shut its eyes, but flew on further; and so it 
came out into the great moor, where the wild ducks lived. 
Here it lay the whole night long; and it was weary and 
downcast. 

Towards morning the wild ducks flew up, and looked at 
their new companion. 

" What sort of a one are you ? " they asked ; and the Duck- 
ling turned in every direction, and bowed as well as it could. 
" You are remarkably ugly ! " said the Wild Ducks. " But 
that is nothing to us, so long as you do not marry into our 
family." 

Poor thing ! it certainly did not think of marrying, and only 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 241 

hoped to obtain leave to lie among the reeds and drink some 
of the swamp water. 

Thus it lay two whole days; then came thither two wild 
geese, or, properly speaking, two wild ganders. It was not 
long since each had crept out of an egg, and that's why they 
were so saucy. 

" Listen, comrade," said one of them. " You're so ugly 
that I like you. Will you go with us, and become a bird of 
passage ? Near here, in another moor, there are a few sweet 
lovely wild geese, all unmarried, and all able to say ' Rap ? ' 
You've a chance of making your fortune, ugly as you are." 

" Piff ! paff ! " resounded through the air ; and the two 
ganders fell down dead in the swamp, and the water became 
blood red. ** Piff ! paff ! " it sounded again, and the whole 
flock of wild geese rose up from the reeds. And then there 
was another report. A great hunt was going on. The 
sportsmen were lying in wait all round the moor, and some 
were even sitting up in the branches of the trees, which 
spread far over the reeds. The blue smoke rose up like 
clouds among the dark trees, and was wafted far away 
across the water; and the hunting dogs came — splash, 
splash ! — into the swamp, and the rushes and the reeds bent 
down on every side. That was a fright for the poor Duck- 
ling ! It turned its head, and put it under its wing ; but at 
that moment a frightful great dog stood close by the Duck- 
ling. His tongue hung far out of his mouth, and his eyes 
gleamed horrible and ugly; he thrust out his nose close 
against the Duckling, showed his sharp teeth, and — splash, 
splash ! — on he went, without seizing it. 

"O, Heaven be thanked!" sighed the Duckling. "I am 
so ugly, that even the dog does not like to bite me ! " 

And so it lay quite quiet, while the shots rattled through 
the reeds and gun after gun was fired. At last, late in the 
day, all was still ; but the poor Duckling did not dare to rise 
up; it waited several hours before it looked round, and then 
hastened away out of the moor as fast as it could. It ran on 
over field and meadow ; there was such a storm raging that 
it was difficult to get from one place to another. 

Towards evening the Duck came to a little miserable 
peasant's hut. This hut was so dilapidated that it did not 



242 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

itself know on which side it should fall; and that's why it 
remained standing. The storm whistled round the Duckling 
in such a way that the poor creature was obliged to sit down, 
to stand against it; and the wind blew worse and worse. 
Then the Duckling noticed that one of the hinges of the 
door had given way, and the door hung so slanting that the 
Duckling could slip through the crack into the room; and 
that is what it did. 

Here lived a woman, with her Cat and her Hen. And the 
Cat, whom she called Sonnie, could arch his back and purr, 
he could even give out sparks ; but for that one had to stroke 
his fur the wrong way. The Hen had quite little short legs, 
and therefore she was called Chickabiddy Shortshanks; she 
laid good eggs, and the woman loved her as her own child. 

In the morning the strange Duckling was at once noticed, 
and the Cat began to purr and the Hen to cluck. 

" What's this ? " said the woman, and looked all round ; but 
she could not see well, and therefore she thought the Duck- 
ling was a fat duck that had strayed. " This is a rare prize !" 
she said. " Now I shall have duck's eggs. I hope it is not a 
drake. We must try that." 

And so the Duckling was admitted on trial for three weeks ; 
but no eggs came. And the Cat was master of the house, 
and the Hen was the lady, and always said "We and the 
world ! " for she thought they were half the world, and by 
far the better half. The Duckling thought one might have 
a different opinion, but the Hen would not allow it. 

" Can you lay eggs ? " she asked. 

" No." 

" Then will you hold your tongue ! " 

And the Cat said, " Can you curve your back, and purr, and 
give out sparks ? " 

" No." 

" Then you will please have no opinion of your own when 
sensible folks are speaking." 

And the Duckling sat in a corner and was melancholy; 
then the fresh air and the sunshine streamed in ; and it was 
seized with such a strange longing to swim on the water, 
that it could not help telling the Hen of it. 

" What are you thinking of ? " cried the Hen. " You have 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 243 

nothing to do, that's why you have these fancies. Lay eggs, 
or purr, and they will pass over." 

" But it is so charming to swim on the water ! " said the 
Duckling, " so refreshing to let it close above one's head, 
and to dive down to the bottom." 

" Yes, that must be a mighty pleasure, truly," quoth the 
Hen. " I fancy you must have gone crazy. Ask the Cat 
about it, — he's the cleverest animal I know, — ask him if he 
likes to swim on the water, or to dive down: I won't speak 
about myself. Ask our mistress, the old woman; no one in 
the world is cleverer than she. Do you think she has any 
desire to swim, and to let the water close above her head ? " 

" You don't understand me," said the Duckling. 

" We don't understand you? Then pray who is to under- 
stand you ? You surely don't pretend to be cleverer than the 
Cat and the woman — I won't say anything of myself. Don't 
be conceited, child, and thank your Maker for all the kind- 
ness you have received. Did you not get into a warm room, 
and have you not fallen into company from which you may 
learn something? But you are a chatterer, and it is not 
pleasant to associate with you. You may believe me, I speak 
for your good. I tell you disagreeable things, and by that 
one may always know one's true friends ! Only take care 
that you learn to lay eggs, or to purr, and give out sparks ! " 

" I think I will go out into the wide world," said the Duck- 
ling. 

" Yes, do go," replied the Hen. 

And so the Duckling went away. It swam on the water, 
and dived, but it was slighted by every creature because of its 
ugliness. 

Now came the autumn. The leaves in the forest turned 
yellow and brown ; the wind caught them so that they danced 
about, and up in the air it ^as very cold. The clouds hung 
low, heavy with hail and snow-flakes, and on the fence stood 
the raven, crying, "Croak ! croak !" for mere cold ; yes, it was 
enough to make one feel cold to think of this. The poor little 
Duckling certainly had not a good time. One evening — the 
sun was just setting in his beauty — there came a whole flock 
of great, handsome birds out of the bushes; they were daz- 
zlingly white, with long, flexible necks; they were swans. 



244 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

They uttered a very peculiar cry, spread forth their glorious 
great wings, and flew away from that cold region to warmer 
lands, to fair open lakes. They mounted so high, so high ! 
and the ugly Duckling felt quite strangely as it watched 
them. It turned round and round in the water like a wheel, 
stretched out its neck towards them, and uttered such a 
strange, loud cry as frightened itself. O ! it could not for- 
get those beautiful, happy birds; and so soon as it could 
see them no longer, it dived down to the very bottom, and 
when it came up again, it was quite beside itself. It knew 
not the name of those birds, and knew not whither they were 
flying; but it loved them more than it had ever loved any 
one. It was not at all envious of them. How could it think 
of wishing to possess such loveliness as they had? It would 
have been glad if only the ducks would have endured its 
company — the poor, ugly creature! 

And the winter grew cold, very cold ! The Duckling was 
forced to swim about in the water, to prevent the surface 
from freezing entirely; but every night the hole in which 
it swam about became smaller and smaller. It froze so hard 
that the icy covering crackled again; and the Duckling was 
obliged to use its legs continually to prevent the hole from 
freezing up. At last it became exhausted, and lay quite still, 
and thus froze fast into the ice. 

Early in the morning a peasant came by, and when he saw 
what had happened, he took his wooden shoe, broke the ice- 
crust to pieces, and carried the Duckling home to his wife. 
Then it came to itself again. The children wanted to play 
with it; but the Duckling thought they wanted to hurt it, 
and in its terror fluttered up into the milk-pan, so that the 
milk spurted down into the room. The woman clasped her 
hands, at which the Duckling flew down into the butter-tub, 
and then into the meal-barrel and out again. How it looked 
then ! The woman screamed, and struck at it with the fire- 
tongs; the children tumbled over one another in their efforts 
to catch the Duckling ; and they laughed and they screamed ! 
— well it was that the door stood open, and the poor creature 
was able to slip out between the shrubs into the newly-fallen 
snow — there it lay quite exhausted. 

But it would be too melancholy if I were to tell all the 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 245 

misery and care which the Duckling had to endure in the 
hard winter. It lay out on the moor among the reeds, when 
the sun began to shine again and the larks to sing: it was 
a beautiful spring. 

Then all at once the Duckling could flap its wings: they 
beat the air more strongly than before, and bore it strongly 
away; and before it well knew how all this happened, it 
found itself in a great garden, where the elder-trees smelt 
sweet, and bent their long green branches down to the canal 
that wound through the region. O, here it was so beautiful, 
such a gladness of spring ! and from the thicket came three 
glorious white swans; they rustled their wings, and swam 
lightly on the water. The Duckling knew the splendid 
creatures, and felt oppressed by a peculiar sadness, 

" I will fly away to them, to the royal birds ; and they will 
beat me, because I, that am so ugly, dare to come near them. 
But it is all the same. Better be killed by them than to be 
pursued by ducks, and beaten by fowls, and pushed about by 
the girl who takes care of the poultry yard, and to suffer 
hunger in winter ! " And it flew out into the water, and 
swam towards the beautiful swans: these looked at it, and 
came sailing down upon it with outspread wings. " Kill 
me ! " said the poor creature, and bent its head down upon 
the water, expecting nothing but death. But what was this 
that it saw in the clear water? It beheld its own image; 
and, lo ! it was no longer a clumsy dark-gray bird, ugly and 
hateful to look at, but a — swan ! 

It matters nothing if one is born in a duck-yard, if one has 
only lain in a swan's egg. 

It felt quite glad at all the need and misfortune it had 
suffered, now it realized its happiness in all the splendor that 
surrounded it. And the great swans swam round it, and 
stroked it with their beaks. 

Into the garden came little children, who threw bread and 
corn into the water ; and the youngest cried, " There is a new 
one ! " and the other children shouted joyously, " Yes, a new 
one has arrived ! " And they clapped their hands and 
danced about, and ran to their father and mother ; and bread 
and cake were thrown into the water; and they all said, 
" The new one is the most beautiful of all ! so young 

HC XVII — p 



246 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

and handsome!" and the old swans bowed their heads 
before him. 

Then he felt quite ashamed, and hid his head under his 
wings, for he did not know what to do ; he was so happy, and 
yet not at all proud. He thought how he had been persecuted 
and despised ; and now he heard them saying that he was the 
most beautiful of all birds. Even the elder-tree bent its 
branches straight down into the water before him, and the 
sun shown warm and mild. Then his wings rustled, he lifted 
his slender neck, and cried rejoicingly from the depths of 
his heart, — 

" I never dreamed of so much happiness when I was the 
Ugly Duckling!" 

THE SWINEHERD 

There was once a poor Prince; he had a kingdom that 
was very small; still it was quite large enough to marry 
upon; and he wished to marry. 

It was certainly rather cool of him to say to the Em- 
peror's daughter, " Will you have me ? " But so he did ; 
for his name was renowned far and wide; and there were 
a hundred Princesses who would have answered, " Thank 
you." But see what she said. Now we will hear. 

By the grave of the Prince's father there grew a rose-tree, 
— a most beautiful rose-tree; it blossomed only once in 
every^ five years, and even then bore only one flower, but 
that was a rose that smelt so sweet as to make one forget 
all cares and sorrows. 

And furthermore, the Prince had a nightingale, who could 
sing in such a manner that it seemed as though all 
sweet melodies dwelt in her little throat. So the Prin- 
cess was to have the rose and the nightingale; and they 
were accordingly put into large silver caskets, and 
sent to her. 

The Emperor had them brought into a large hall, where 
the Princess was playing at "making calls," with the ladies 
of the court; they never did anything else, and when she 
saw the caskets with the presents, she clapped her hands 
for joy. 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 247 

"Ah, if it were but a little pussy-cat!" exclaimed she; 
then out came the beautiful rose. 

" O, how prettily it is made ! " said all the court-ladies. 

" It is more than pretty," said the Emperor ; " it is 
charming ! " 

But the Princess touched it and was almost ready to cry. 

*' Fie, papa ! " said she, " it is not made at all ; it is 
natural ! " 

" Fie ! " cried all the court-ladies ; " it is natural ! " 

" Let us see what is in the other casket, before we get 
into a bad humor," proposed the Emperor. So the Night- 
ingale came forth, and sang so delightfully that at first 
no one could say anything ill-humored of it. 

'*Superbe! charmant!" exclaimed the ladies; for they 
all used to chatter French, each one worse than her neigh- 
bor. 

" How much the bird reminds me of the musical box 
that belonged to our blessed Empress ! " remarked an old 
Knight. "Ah yes ! it is the very same tone, the same 
execution." 

" Yes ! yes ! " said the Emperor, and he wept like a little 
child. 

" I will still hope that it is not a real bird," said the 
Princess. 

" Yet it is a real bird," said those who had brought 
it. 

" Well, then let the bird fly," returned the Princess ; and 
she positively refused to see the Prince. 

However, he was not to be discouraged; he daubed his 
face over brown and black ; pulled his cap over his ears, and 
knocked at the door. 

" Good day. Emperor ! " said he. " Can I have employ- 
ment at the palace?" 

" O there are so many that want a place ! " said the Em- 
peror ; " well, let me see, I want some one to take care of 
the pigs, for we have a great many of them." 

So the Prince was appointed " Imperial Swineherd." He 
had a dirty little room close by the pig-sty; and there he sat 
the whole day, and worked. By the evening, he had made a 
pretty little saucepan. Little bells were hung all around 



248 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

it; and when the pot was boiling, these bells tinkled in the 
most charming manner, and played the old melody: — 

"Ah! thou dearest Augustine! 
All is gone, gone, gone!" 

But what was still more curious, whoever held his finger 
in the smoke of this saucepan, immediately smelt all the 
dishes that were cooking on every hearth in the city: this, 
you see, was something quite different from the rose. 

Now the Princess happened to walk that way; and when 
she heard the tune, she stood quite still, and seemed 
pleased ; for she could play " Dearest Augustine ; " it was 
the only piece she knew, and she played it with one finger. 

" Why, there is my piece ! " said the Princess ; " that 
Swineherd must certainly have been well educated! Here! 
Go in and ask him the price of the instrument." 

And so one of the court-ladies must run in; however, she 
drew on wooden slippers first. 

" What will you take for the saucepan ? " inquired the 
lady. 

" I will have ten kisses from the Princess," said the Swine- 
herd. 

" Mercy on us ! " said the lady. 

" Yes, I cannot sell it for less," said the swineherd. 

" Well, what does he say ? " asked the Princess. 

" I cannot tell you really," replied the lady ; " it is too 
bad!" 

*' Then you can whisper it ! " So the lady whispered it. 

" He is an impudent fellow ! " said the Princess, and she 
walked on; but when she had gone a little way, the bells 
tinkled so prettily, — 

"Ah! thou dearest Augustine! 
All is gone, gone, gone!" 

" Stay," said the Princess. "Ask him if he will have ten 
kisses from the ladies of my court." 

" No, thank you ! " answered the swineherd : " ten kisses 
from the Princess, or I keep the saucepan myself." 

*' That must not be, either ! " said the Princess ; " but do 
you all stand before me that no one may see us." 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 249 

And the court-ladies placed themselves in front of her, 
and spread out their dresses; and so the Swineherd got ten 
kisses, and she got the saucepan. 

It was delightful! the saucepan was kept boiling all the 
evening, and the whole of the following day. They knew 
perfectly well what was cooking at every fire throughout 
the city, from the chamberlain's to the cobbler's; the court- 
ladies danced, and clapped their hands. 

" We know who has soup and who has pancakes for din- 
ner to-day, who has cutlets, and who has eggs. How in- 
teresting ! " 

And " How interesting ! " said the Lord Steward's wife. 

" Yes, but keep my secret, for I am an Emperor's daugh- 
ter." 

"Mercy on us," said they all. 

The Swineherd — that is to say the Prince, for no one 
knew that he was other than an ill-favored swineherd — let 
not a day pass without working at something; he at last 
constructed a rattle, which, when it was swung round, 
played all the waltzes and jig-tunes which have ever been 
heard since the creation of the world. 

"Ah, that is superbe ! " said the Princess when she passed 
by ; "I have never heard prettier compositions ! Go in and 
ask him the price of the instrument ; but I won't kiss him ! " 

" He will have a hundred kisses from the Princess ! " said 
the court-lady who had been in to ask. 

" I think he is crazy ! " said the Princess, and walked on ; 
but when she had gone a little way, she stopped again. 
" One must encourage art," said she ; " I am the Emperor's 
daughter. Tell him, he shall, as on yesterday, have ten 
kisses from me, and may take the rest from the ladies of 
the court." 

" O ! but we should not like that at all ! " said the court- 
ladies. 

"What are you muttering?" asked the Princess; " if I 
can kiss him, surely you can! Remember, I give you your 
food and wages.'* So the court-ladies were obliged to go 
to him again. 

"A hundred kisses from the Princess ! " said he, " or 
else let every one keep his own." 



250 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

" Stand round ! '* said she ; and all the ladies stood round 
her whilst the kissing was going on. 

" What can be the reason for such a crowd close by the 
pig-sty?" said the Emperor, who happened just then to 
step out on the balcony. He rubbed his eyes and put on 
his spectacles. "They are ladies of the court; there is 
some play going on. I must go down and see what they are 
about !" So he pulled up his slippers at the heel, for he had 
trodden them down. 

Heh there! what a hurry he is in. 

As soon as he had got into the court-yard, he moved very 
softly, and the ladies were so much engrossed with counting 
the kisses, that all might go on fairly, that they did not 
perceive the Emperor. He rose on his tiptoes. 

• " What is all this ? " said he, when he saw what was 
going on, and he boxed the Princess's ears with his slipper, 
just as the Swineherd was taking the eighty-sixth kiss. 

" Off with you ! " cried the Emperor, for he was very 
angry; and both Princess and Swineherd were thrust out 
of the city. 

The Princess now stood and wept, the Swineherd scolded, 
and the rain poured down. 

'' O how miserable I am ! " said the Princess. " If I had 
but married the handsome young Prince ! Ah ! how un- 
fortunate I am ! " 

And the Swineherd went behind a tree, washed the black- 
and-brown color from his face, threw off his dirty clothes, 
and stepped forth in his princely robes; he looked so noble 
that the Princess could not help bowing before him. 

" I am come to despise thee," said he. " Thou wouldst 
not have an honourable prince! thou couldst not prize the 
rose and the nightingale, but thou wast ready to kiss the 
Swineherd for the sake of a trumpery plaything. Now 
thou hast thy deserts ! " 

He then went back to his own little kingdom, and shut 
the door of his palace in her face. Now she might well 
sing, 

"Ah! thou dearest Augustine I 
All is goue, gone, gone!" 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 251 



THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES 

Many years ago there lived an Emperor, who was so ex- 
cessively fond of grand new clothes that he spent all his 
money upon them, that he might be very fine. He did not 
care about his soldiers, nor about the theatre, and only liked 
to drive out and show his new clothes. He had a coat for 
every hour of the day ; and just as they say of a king, " He 
is in council," so they always said of him, "The Emperor 
is in the wardrobe." 

In the great city in which he lived it was always very 
merry ; every day came many strangers ; one day two rogues 
came: they gave themselves out as weavers, and declared 
they could weave the finest stuff any one could imagine. Not 
only were their colors and patterns, they said, uncommonly 
beautiful, but the clothes made of the stuff possessed the 
wonderful quality that they became invisible to any one who 
was unfit for the office he held, or was incorrigibly stupid. 

" Those would be capital clothes ! " thought the Emperor. 
"HI wore those, I should be able to find out what men in my 
empire are not fit for the places they have; I could tell the 
clever from the dunces. Yes, the stuff must be woven for 
me directly ! " 

And he gave the two rogues a great deal of cash in hand, 
that they might begin their work at once. 

As for them, they put up two looms, and pretended to be 
working; but they had nothing at all on their looms. They 
at once demanded the finest silk and the costliest gold; this 
they put into their own pockets, and worked at the empty 
looms till late into the night. 

" I should like to know how far they have got on with the 
stuff," thought the Emperor. But he felt quite uncom- 
fortable when he thought that those who were not fit for 
their offices could not see it. He believed, indeed, that he 
had nothing to fear for himself, but yet he preferred first 
to send some one else to see how matters stood. All the 
people in the city knew what peculiar power the stuff pos- 
sessed, and all were anxious to see how bad or how stupid 
their neighbors were. 



252 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

"I will send my honest old Minister to the weavers," 
thought the Emperor. " He can judge best how the stuff 
looks, for he has sense, and no one understands his office 
better than he." 

Now the good old Minister went out into the hall where 
the two rogues sat working at the empty looms. 

" Mercy on us ! " thought the old Minister, and he opened 
his eyes wide. " I cannot see anything at all ! " But he 
did not say this. 

Both the rogues begged him to be so good as to come 
nearer, and asked if he did not approve of the colors and the 
pattern. Then they pointed to the empty loom, and the poor 
old Minister went on opening his eyes; but he could see 
nothing, for there was nothing to see. 

" Mercy ! " thought he, " can I indeed be so stupid ? I 
never thought that, and not a soul must know it. Am I not 
fit for my office? No, it will never do for me to tell that I 
could not see the stuff." 

" Don't you say anything to it ? " asked one, as he went on 
weaving. 

" O, it is charming — quite enchanting ! " answered the old 
Minister, as he peered through his spectacles. " What a fine 
pattern, and what colors! Yes, I shall tell the Emperor 
that I am very much pleased with it." 

" Well, we are glad of that," said both the weavers ; and 
then they named the colors, and explained the strange pat- 
tern. The old Minister listened attentively, that he might 
be able to repeat it when the Emperor came. And he did so. 

Now the rogues asked for more money, and silk and gold, 
which they declared they wanted for weaving. They put 
all into their own pockets, and not a thread was put upon 
the loom; they continued to work at the empty frames as 
before. 

The Emperor soon sent again, dispatching another honest 
officer of the court, to see how the weaving was go- 
ing on, and if the stuff would soon be ready. He fared 
just like the first: he looked and looked, but, as there was 
nothing to be seen but the empty looms, he could see 
nothing. 

"Is not that a pretty piece of stuff?" asked the two 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 253 

rogues; and they displayed and explained the handsome 
pattern which was not there at all. 

" I am not stupid ! " thought the man : " it must be my 
good office, for which I am not fit. It is funny enough, but I 
must not let it be noticed." And so he praised the stuff 
which he did not see, and expressed his pleasure at the 
beautiful colors and charming pattern. " Yes, it is en- 
chanting," he told the Emperor. 

All the people in the town were talking of the gorgeous 
stuff. The Emperor wished to see it himself while it was 
still upon the loom. With a whole crowd of chosen men, 
among whom were also the two honest statesmen who had 
already been there, he went to the two cunning rogues, who 
were now weaving with might and main without fibre or 
thread. 

" Is not that splendid ? " said the two statesmen, who had 
already been there once. " Does not your Majesty remark 
the pattern and the colors ? " And they pointed to the 
empty loom, for they thought that the others could see the 
stuff. 

" What's this ? " thought the Emperor. " I can see noth- 
ing at all ! That is terrible. Am I stupid ? Am I not fit to 
be Emperor? That would be the most dreadful thing that 
could happen to me. O, it is very pretty ! " he said aloud. 
" It has our highest approbation." And he nodded in a 
contented way, and gazed at the empty loom, for he would 
not say that he saw nothing. The whole suite whom he had 
with him looked and looked, and saw nothing, any more 
than the rest; but, like the Emperor, they said, "That is 
pretty ! " and counseled him to wear the splendid new clothes 
for the first time at the great procession that was presently 
to take place. " It is splendid, excellent ! " went from mouth 
to mouth. On all sides there seemed to be general rejoicing, 
and the Emperor gave the rogues the title of Imperial Court 
Weavers. 

The whole night before the morning on which the pro- 
cession was to take place, the rogues were up, and kept 
more than sixteen candles burning. The people could see 
that they were hard at work, completing the Emperor's new 
clothes. They pretended to take the stuff down from the 



254 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

loom; they made cuts in the air with great scissors; they 
sewed with needles without thread; and at last they said, 
" Now the clothes are ready ! '' 

The Emperor came himself with his noblest cavaliers ; and 
the two rogues lifted up one arm as if they were holding 
something, and said, " See, here are the trousers ! here is 
the coat ! here is the cloak ! " and so on. " It is as light as 
a spider's web : one would think one had nothing on ; but that 
is just the beauty of it." 

" Yes," said all the cavaliers ; but they could not see any- 
thing, for nothing was there. 

" Will your Imperial Majesty please to condescend to take 
off your clothes ? " said the rogues ; " then we will put on you 
the new clothes here in front of the great mirror." 

The Emperor took off his clothes, and the rogues 
pretended to put on him each new garment as it was 
ready; and the Emperor turned round and round before 
the mirror. 

" O, how well they look ! how capitally they fit ! " said all. 
" What a pattern ! what colors ! That is a splendid dress ! " 

" They are standing outside with the canopy, which is to 
be borne above your Majesty in the procession ! " announced 
the head Master of the Ceremonies. 

" Well, I am ready," replied the Emperor. " Does it not 
suit me well ? " And then he turned again to the mirror, 
for he wanted it to appear as if he contemplated his adorn- 
ment with great interest. 

The two chamberlains, who were to carry the train, 
stooped down with their hands toward the floor, just as if 
they were picking up the mantle; then they pretended to 
be holding something in the air. They did not dare to let it 
be noticed that they saw nothing. 

So the Emperor went in procession under the rich canopy, 
and every one in the streets said, "How incomparable are 
the Emperor's new clothes ! what a train he has to his man- 
tle ! how it fits him ! " No one would let it be perceived 
that he could see nothing, for that would have shown 
that he was not fit for his office, or was very stupid. 
No clothes of the Emperor's had ever had such a success 
as these. 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 255 

" But he has nothing on ! " a little child cried out at last. 

" Just hear what that innocent says ! " said the father : and 
one whispered to another what the child had said. 

" But he has nothing on ! " said the whole people at length. 
That touched the Emperor, for it seemed to him that they 
were right ; but he thought within himself, " I must go 
through with the procession." And so he held himself a little 
higher, and the chamberlains held on tighter than ever, and 
carried the train which did not exist at all. 



THE LITTLE SEA-MAID 

Far out in the sea the water is as blue as the petals of the 
most beautiful corn-flower, and as clear as the purest 
glass. But it is very deep, deeper than any cable will sound; 
many steeples must be placed one above the other to reach 
from the ground to the surface of the water. And down 
there live the sea-people. 

Now, you must not believe there is nothing down there 
but the naked sand; no, — the strangest trees and plants 
grow there, so pliable in their stalks and leaves that at the 
least motion of the water they move just as if they had life. 
All fishes, great and small, glide among the twigs, just 
as here the birds do in the trees. In the deepest spot of all 
lies the Sea-king's castle: the walls are of coral, and the 
tall, Gothic windows of the clearest amber; shells form 
the roof, and they open and shut according as the water 
flows. It looks lovely, for in each shell lie gleaming pearls, 
a single one of which would have great value in a queen's 
diadem. 

The Sea-king below there had been a widower for many 
years, while his old mother kept house for him. She was 
a clever woman, but proud of her rank, so she wore twelve 
oysters on her tail, while the other great people were 
only allowed to wear six. Beyond this she was deserving 
of great praise, especially because she was very fond of her 
grand-daughters, the little Sea-princesses. These were six 
pretty children; but the youngest was the most beautiful 
of all. Her skin was as clear and as fine as a rose leaf; 



256 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

her eyes were as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the 
rest, she had no feet, for her body ended in a fish-tail. 

All day long they could play in the castle, down in the 
halls, where living flowers grew out of the walls. The 
great amber windows were opened, and then the fishes swam 
in to them, just as the swallows fly in to us when we open 
our windows; but the fishes swam straight up to the 
Princesses, ate out of their hands, and let themselves be 
stroked. 

Outside the castle was a great garden with bright red 
and dark blue flowers; the fruit glowed like gold, and the 
flowers like flames of fire ; and they continually kept moving 
their stalks and leaves. The earth itself was the finest 
sand, but blue as the flame of brimstone. A peculiar blue 
radiance lay upon everything down there: one would have 
thought oneself high in the air, with the canopy of heaven 
above and around, rather than at the bottom of the deep 
sea. During a calm the sun could be seen; it appeared 
like a purple flower, from which all light streamed out. 

Each of the little Princesses had her own little place in 
the garden, where she might dig and plant at her good 
pleasure. One gave her flower-bed the form of a whale; 
another thought it better to make hers like a little sea- 
woman: but the youngest made hers quite round, like the 
sun and had flowers which gleamed red as the sun itself. She 
was a strange child, quiet and thoughtful, and when the 
other sisters made a display of the beautiful things they 
had received out of wrecked ships, she would have nothing 
beyond the red flowers which resembled the sun, except 
a pretty marble statue. This was a figure of a charming boy, 
hewn out of white clear stone, which had sunk down to the 
bottom of the sea from a wreck. She planted a pink weep- 
ing willow "beside this statue; the tree grew famously, and 
hung its fresh branches over the statue towards the blue 
sandy ground, where the shadow showed violet, and moved 
like the branches themselves; it seemed as if the ends of 
the branches and the roots were playing together and 
wished to kiss each other. 

There was no greater pleasure for her than to^hear of the 
world of men above them. The old grandmother had to 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 257 

tell all she knew of ships and towns, of men and animals. 
It seemed particularly beautiful to her that up on the earth 
the flowers shed fragrance, for they had none down at the 
bottom of the sea, and that the trees were green, and that 
the fishes which one saw there among the trees could sing 
so loud and clear that it was a pleasure to hear them. What 
the grandmother called fishes were the little birds ; the Prin- 
cess could not understand them in any other way, for she 
had never seen a bird. 

"When you have reached your fifteenth year," said the 
grandmother, " you shall have leave to rise up out of the sea, 
to sit on the rocks in the moonlight, and to see the great 
ships as they sail by. Then you will see forests and towns ! " 

In the next year one of the sisters was fifteen years of 
age, but each of the others was one year younger than the 
next; so that the youngest had full five years to wait before 
she could come up from the bottom of the sea, and find 
how our world looked. But one promised to tell the others 
what she had seen and what she had thought the most beauti- 
ful on the first day of her visit; for their grandmother 
could not tell them enough — there was so much about which 
they wanted information. 

No one was more anxious about these things than the 
youngest — just that one who had the longest time to wait, 
and who was always quiet and thoughtful. Many a night 
she stood by the open window, and looked up through the 
dark blue water at the fishes splashing with their fins and 
tails. Moon and stars she could see; they certainly shone 
quite faintly, but through the water they looked much 
larger than they appear in our eyes. When something like 
a black cloud passed among them, she knew that it was either 
a whale swimming over her head, or a ship with many 
people: they certainly did not think that a pretty little 
sea-maid was standing down below stretching up her white 
hands towards the keel of their ship. 

Now the eldest Princess was fifteen years old, and might 
mount up to the surface of the sea. 

When she came back, she had a hundred things to tell, — 
but the finest thing, she said, was to lie in the moonshine 
on a sand-bank in the quiet sea, and to look at the neigh- 



258 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

boring coast, with the large town, where the lights twinkled 
like a hundred stars, and to hear the music and the noise 
and clamor of carriages and men, to see the many church 
steeples, and to hear the sound of the bells. Just because 
she could not get up to these, she longed for them more than 
for anything. 

O how the youngest sister listened ! and afterwards when 
she stood at the open window and looked up through the 
dark-blue water, she thought of the great city with all its 
bustle and noise; and then she thought she could hear the 
church bells ringing, even down to the depth where she was. 

In the following year, the second sister received permis- 
sion to mount upward through the water and to swim 
whither she pleased. She rose up just as the sun was set- 
ting, and this spectacle, she said, was the most beautiful. 
The whole sky looked like gold, and as to the clouds, she 
could not properly describe their beauty. They sailed away 
over her head, purple and violet-colored, but far quicker 
than the clouds there flew a flight of wild swans, like a long 
white veil, over the water towards where the sun stood. 
She swam towards them; but the sun sank, and the roseate 
hue faded on the sea and in the clouds. 

In the following year the next sister went up. She was 
the boldest of them all, and therefore she swam up a 
broad stream that poured its waters into the sea. She saw 
glorious green hills clothed with vines; palaces and castles 
shone forth from amid splendid woods; she heard how all 
the birds sang; and the sun shone so warm that she was 
often obliged to dive under the water to cool her glowing 
face. In a little bay she found a whole swarm of little 
mortals. They were quite naked, and splashed about in 
the water; she wanted to play with them, but they fled in 
affright and a little black animal came, — it was a dog, but 
she had never seen a dog, — and it barked at her so terribly 
that she became frightened, and tried to gain the open sea. 
But she could never forget the glorious woods, the green 
hills, and the pretty children, who could swim in the water, 
though they had not fish-tails. 

The fourth sister was not so bold: she remained out in 
the midst of the wild sea, and declared that just there it was 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 259 

most beautiful. One could see for many miles around, 
and the sky above looked like a bell of glass. She had seen 
ships, but only in the far distance — they looked like sea- 
gulls; and the funny dolphins had thrown somersaults, and 
the great whales spouted out water from their nostrils, so 
that it looked like hundreds of fountains all around. 

Now came the turn of the fifth sister. Her birthday 
came in the winter, and so she saw what the others had 
not seen the first time. The sea looked quite green, and 
great icebergs were floating about; each one separated like 
a pearl, she said, and yet was much taller than the church 
steeples built by men. They showed themselves in the 
strangest forms, and shone like diamonds. She had seated 
herself upon one of the greatest of all, and let the wind 
play with her long hair; and all the sailing ships tacked 
about in a very rapid way beyond where she sat: 
but toward evening the sky became covered with clouds, 
it thundered and lightened, and the black waves lifted 
the great ice-blocks high up, and let them glow in the 
red glare. On all the ships the sails were reefed, and 
there was fear and anguish. But she sat quietly upon 
her floating iceberg, and saw the forked blue flashes dart 
into the sea. 

Each of the sisters, as she came up for the first time to 
the surface of the water, was delighted with the new and 
beautiful sights she saw; but as they now had permission, 
as grown-up girls, to go whenever they liked, it became in- 
different to them. They wished themselves back again, and 
after a month had elapsed they said it was best of all down 
below, for there one felt so comfortably at home. 

Many an evening hour the five sisters took one another 
by the arm and rose up in a row over the water. They 
had splendid voices, more charming than any mortal could 
have ; and when a storm was approaching, so that they could 
apprehend that ships would go down, they swam on before 
the ships and sang lovely songs, which told how beautiful 
it was at the bottom of the sea, and exhorted the sailors 
not to be afraid to come down. But these could not under- 
stand the words, and thought it was the storm sighing; and 
they did not see the splendors below, for if the ships sank 



260 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

they were drowned, and came as corpses to the Sea-king's 
palace. 

When the sisters thus rose up, arm in arm, in the evening 
time, through the water^ the little sister stood all alone 
looking after them; and she felt as if she must weep; but 
the sea-maid has no tears and for this reason she suffers 
far more acutely. 

"O if I were only fifteen years old !" said she. " I know 
I shall love the world up there very much, and the people 
who live and dwell there." 

At last she was really fifteen years old. 

" Now, you see, you are grown up," said the grandmother, 
the old dowager. " Come, let me adorn you like your 
sisters." 

And she put a wreath of white lilies in the little maid's 
hair, but each flower was half a pearl; and the old lady let 
eight great oysters attach themselves to the Princess's tail, 
in token of her high rank. 

" But that hurts so ! " said the little Sea-maid. 

" Yes, pride must suffer pain," replied the old lady. 

O how glad she would have been to shake off all the 
tokens of rank and lay aside the heavy wreath ! Her red 
flowers in the garden suited her better; but she could not 
help it. ** Farewell ! " she said, and then she rose, light and 
clear as a water-bubble, up through the sea. 

The sun had just set when she lifted her head above the 
sea, but all the clouds still shone like roses and gold, and in 
the pale red sky the evening-stars gleamed bright and beau- 
tiful. The air was mild and fresh, and the sea quite calm. 
There lay a great ship with three masts ; one single sail only 
was set, for not a breeze stirred, and around in the shrouds 
and on the yards sat the sailors. There was music and sing- 
ing, and as the evening closed in, hundreds of colored lan- 
terns were lighted up, and looked as if the flags of every 
nation were waving in the air. The little Sea-maid swam 
straight to the cabin window, and each time the sea lifted 
her up, she could look through the panes, which were clear 
as crystal, and see many people standing within dressed in 
their best. But the handsomest of all was the young Prince 
with the great black eyes: he was certainly not much more 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 261 

than sixteen years old ; it was his birthday, and that was the 
cause of all this feasting. The sailors were dancing upon 
deck; and when the young Prince came out, more than a 
hundred rockets rose into the air; they shone like day, so 
that the little Sea-maid was quite startled, and dived under 
the water; but soon she put out her head again, and then 
it seemed just as if all the stars of heaven were falling down 
upon her. She had never seen such fire-works. Great 
suns spurted fire all around, glorious fiery fishes flew up into 
the blue air, and everything was mirrored in the clear blue 
sea. The ship itself was so brightly lit up that every sep- 
arate rope could be seen, and the people therefore appeared 
the more plainly. O how handsome the young Prince was ! 
And he pressed the people's hands and smiled, while the 
music rang out in the glorious night. 

It became late; but the little Sea-maid could not turn her 
eyes from the ship and from the beautiful Prince. The 
colored lanterns were extinguished, rockets ceased to fly 
into the air, and no more cannons were fired; but there was 
a murmuring and a buzzing deep down in the sea; and she 
sat on the water, swaying up and down, so that she could 
look into the cabin. But as the ship got more way, one sail 
after another was spread. And now the waves rose higher, 
great clouds came up, and in the distance there was light- 
ning. O ! it was going to be fearful weather, therefore the 
sailors furled the sails. The great ship flew in swift ca- 
reer over the wild sea: the waters rose up like great black 
mountains, which wanted to roll over the masts; but like 
a swan the ship dived into the valleys between these high 
waves, and then let itself be lifted on high again. To the 
little Sea-maid this seemed merry sport, but to the sailors it 
appeared very differently. The ship groaned and creaked; 
the thick planks were bent by the heavy blows; the sea 
broke into the ship; the mainmast snapped in two like 
a thin reed, and the ship lay over on her side, while the 
water rushed into the hold. Now the little Sea-maid saw 
that the people were in peril ; she herself was obliged to take 
care to avoid the beams and fragments of the ship which 
were floating about on the waters. One moment it was so 
pitch dark that not a single object could be described, but 

HC XVII— Q 



262 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

when it lightened it became so bright that she could distin- 
guish every one on board. She looked particularly for the 
young Prince, and when the ship parted she saw him sink 
into the sea. Then she was very glad, for now he would 
come down to her. But then she remembered that people 
could not live in the water, and that when he got down to 
her father's palace he would certainly be dead. No, he 
must not die: so she swam about among the beams and 
planks that strewed the surface, quite forgetting that one 
of them might have crushed her. Diving down deep under 
the water, she again rose high up among the waves, and 
in this way she at last came to the Prince, who could scarcely 
swim longer in that stormy sea. His arms and legs began 
to fail him, his beautiful eyes closed, and he would have 
died had the little Sea-maid not come. She held his head 
up over the water, and then allowed the waves to carry 
her and him whither they listed. 

When the morning came the storm had passed by. Of 
the ship not a fragment was to be seen. The sun came up 
red and shining out of the water; it was as if its beams 
brought back the hue of life to the cheeks of the Prince, 
but his eyes remained closed. The Sea-maid kissed his 
high, fair forehead and put back his wet hair, and he 
seemed to her to be like the marble statue in her little 
garden: she kissed him again and hoped that he might live. 

Now she saw in front of her the dry land — high blue 
mountains, on whose summits the white snow gleamed as 
if swans were lying there. Down on the coast were glorious 
green forests, and a building — she could not tell whether 
it was a church or a convent — stood there. In its garden 
grew orange and citron-trees, and high palms waved in 
front of the gate. The sea formed a little bay there ; it was 
quite calm, but very deep. Straight toward the rock where 
the fine white sand had been cast up, she swam with the 
handsome Prince, and laid him upon the sand, taking especial 
care that his head was raised in the warm sunshine. 

Now all the bells rang in the great white building, and 
many young girls came walking through the garden. Then 
the little Sea-maid swam farther out between some high 
stones that stood up out of the water, laid some sea-foam 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 263 

upon her hair and neck, so that no one could see her little 
countenance, and then she watched to see who would come 
to the poor Prince. 

In a short time a young girl went that way. She seemed 
to be much startled, but only for a moment ; then she brought 
more people, and the Sea-maid perceived that the Prince 
came back to life, and that he smiled at all around him. 
But he did not cast a smile at her: he did not know that 
she had saved him. And she felt very sorrowful; and when 
he was led away into the great building, she dived mourn- 
fully under the water and returned to her father's palace. 

She had always been gentle and melancholy, but now she 
became much more so. Her sisters asked her what she had 
seen the first time she rose up to the surface, but she would 
tell them nothing. 

Many an evening and many a morning she went up to the 
place where she had left the Prince. She saw how the 
fruits of the garden grew ripe and were gathered; she saw 
how the snow melted on the high mountain; but she did not 
see the Prince, and so she always returned home more 
sorrowful still. Then her only comfort was to sit in her 
little garden, and to wind her arm round the beautiful 
marble statue that resembled the Prince ; but she did not tend 
her flowers; they grew as if in a wilderness over the paths, 
and trailed their long leaves and stalks up into the branches 
of trees, so that it became quite dark there. 

At last she could endure it no longer, and told all to one 
of her sisters, and then the others heard of it too; but no- 
body knew of it beyond these and a few other sea-maids, 
who told the secret to their intimate friends. One of 
these knew who the Prince was ; she too had seen the festival 
on board the ship; and she announced whence he came and 
where his kingdom lay. 

" Come, little sister," said the other Princesses ; and 
linking their arms together, they rose up in a long row out 
of the sea, at the place where they knew the Prince's 
palace lay. 

This palace was built of a kind of bright yellow stone, 
with great marble staircases, one of which led directly down 
into the sea. Over the roof rose splendid gilt cupolas, 



264 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

and between the pillars which surrounded the whole dwell- 
ing, stood marble statues which looked as if they were 
alive. Through the clear glass in the high windows one 
looked into the glorious halls, where costly silk hangings and 
tapestries were hung up, and all the walls were decked 
with splendid pictures, so that it was a perfect delight to 
see them. In the midst of the greatest of these halls a great 
fountain plashed; its jets shot high up toward the glass 
dome in the ceiling, through which the sun shone down 
upon the water and upon the lovely plants growing in the 
great basin. 

Now she knew where he lived, and many an evening and 
many a night she spent there on the water. She swam far 
closer to the land than any of the others would have dared 
to venture; indeed, she went quite up the narrow channel 
under the splendid marble balcony, which threw a broad 
shadow upon the water. Here she sat and watched the 
young Prince, who thought himself quite alone in the 
bright moonlight. 

Many an evening she saw him sailing, amid the sounds of 
music, in his costly boat with the waving flags; she peeped 
up through the green reeds, and when the wind caught 
her silver-white veil, and any one saw it he thought it 
was a white swan spreading out its wings. 

Many a night when the fishermen were on the sea with 
their torches, she heard much good told of the young Prince ; 
and she rejoiced that she had saved his life when he 
was driven about, half dead, on the wild billows : she thought 
how quietly his head had reclined on her bosom, and how 
heartily she had kissed him; but he knew nothing of it, 
and could not even dream of her. 

More and more she began to love mankind, and more 
and more she wished to be able to wander about among those 
whose world seemed far larger than her own. For they 
could fly over the sea in ships, and mount up the high 
hills far above the clouds, and the lands they possessed 
stretched out in woods and fields farther than her eyes could 
reach. There was much she wished to know, but her sisters 
could not answer all her questions; therefore she applied 
to the old grandmother; and the old lady knew the upper 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 265 

world, which she rightly called "the countries above the 
sea," very well. 

"If people are not drowned," asked the little Sea-maid, 
" can they live forever ? Do they not die as we die down 
here in the sea ? " 

" Yes," replied the old lady. " They too must die, and 
their life is even shorter than ours. We can live to be 
three hundred years old, but when we cease to exist here, 
we are turned into foam on the surface of the water, and 
have not even a grave down here among those we love. 
We have not an immortal soul; we never receive another 
life; we are like the green sea-weed, which, when once cut 
through, can never bloom again. Men, on the contrary, 
have a soul which lives forever, which lives on after 
the body has become dust; it mounts up through the clear 
air, up to all the shining stars ! As we rise up out of the 
waters and behold all the lands of the earth, so they 
rise up to unknown glorious places which we can never see." 

" Why did we not receive an immortal soul ? " asked the 
little Sea-maid, sorrowfully. " I would gladly give all the 
hundreds of years I have to live to be a human being only 
for one day, and to have a hope of partaking the heavenly 
kingdom." 

" You must not think of that," replied the old lady. " We 
feel ourselves far more happy and far better than mankind 
yonder." 

" Then I am to die and be cast as foam upon the sea, not 
hearing the music of the waves, nor seeing the pretty 
flowers and the red sun? Can I not do anything to win an 
immortal soul ? " 

" No \ " answered the grandmother. " Only if a man were 
to love you so that you should be more to him than father 
or mother; if he should cling to you with his every thought 
and with all his love, and let the priest lay his right hand 
in yours with a promise of faithfulness here and in all 
eternity, then his soul would be imparted to your body, 
and you would receive a share of the happiness of mankind. 
He would give a soul to you and yet retain his own. But 
that can never come to pass. What is considered beautiful 
here in the sea — the fish-tail — they would consider ugly on 



266 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

the earth: they don't understand it; there one must have 
the clumsy supports which they call legs, to be called beauti- 
ful." 

Then the little Sea-maid sighed and looked mournfully 
upon her fish-tail. 

" Let us be glad ! " said the old lady. " Let us dance and 
leap in the three hundred years we have to live. That is 
certainly long enough; after that we can rest ourselves all 
the better. This evening we shall have a court ball." 

It was a splendid sight, such as is never seen on earth. 
The walls and the ceiling of the great dancing-saloon were 
of thick but transparent glass. Several hundreds of huge 
shells, pink and grass-green, stood on each side in rows, 
filled with a blue fire which lit up the whole hall and shone 
through the walls, so that the sea without was quite lit up; 
one could see all the innumerable fishes, great and small, 
swimming toward the glass walls; of some the scales 
gleamed with purple, while in others they shone like silver 
and gold. Through the midst of the hall flowed a broad 
stream, and on this the sea-men and sea-women danced to 
their own charming songs. Such beautiful voices the 
people of the earth have not. The Uttle Sea-maid sang 
the most sweetly of all, and the whole court applauded 
with hands and tails, and for a moment she felt gay in her 
heart, for she knew she had the loveliest voice of all in the 
sea or on the earth. But soon she thought again of the 
world above her; she could not forget the charming Prince, 
or her sorrow at not having an immortal soul like his. 
Therefore she crept out of her father's palace, and while 
everything within was joy and gladness, she sat melancholy 
in her little garden. Then she heard the bugle horn sound- 
ing through the waters, and thought, " Now he is certainly 
sailing above, he on whom my wishes hang, and in whose 
hand I should like to lay my life's happiness. I will dare 
everything to win him and an immortal soul. While my 
sisters dance yonder in my father's palace, I will go to 
the sea-witch of whom I have always been so much afraid: 
perhaps she can counsel and help me." 

Now the little Sea-maid went out of her garden to the 
foaming whirlpools behind which the sorceress dwelt. She 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 267 

had never travelled that way before. No flowers grew there, 
no sea grass; only the naked gray sand stretched out toward 
the whirlpools, where the water rushed round like roaring 
mill-wheels and tore down everything it seized into the deep. 
Through the midst of these rushing whirlpools she was 
obliged to pass to get in to the domain of the witch ; and for 
a long way there was no other road which led over warm 
gushing mud: this the witch called her turf-moor. Behind 
it lay her house in the midst of a singular forest, in which 
all the trees and bushes were polyps — half animals, half plants. 
They looked like hundred-headed snakes growing up out 
of the earth. All the branches were long, slimy arms, with 
fingers like supple worms, and they moved limb by limb 
from the root to the farthest point; all that they could 
seize on in the water they held fast and did not let it go. 
The little Sea-maid stopped in front of them quite fright- 
ened; her heart beat with fear, and she was near turning 
back; but then she thought of the Prince and the human 
soul, and her courage came back again. She bound her 
long flying hair closely around her head, so that the polyps 
might not seize it. She put her hands together on her breast 
and then shot forward, as a fish shoots through the water, 
among the ugly polyps, which stretched out their supple 
arms and fingers after her. She saw that each of them 
held something it had seized with hundreds of little arms, 
like strong iron bands. People who had perished at sea, 
and had sunk deep down, looked forth as white skeletons 
from among the polyps' arms; ships' oars and chests they 
also held fast, and skeletons of land animals, and a little 
sea-woman whom they had caught and strangled; and this 
seemed the most terrible of all to our little Princess. 

Now she came to a great marshy place in the wood, where 
fat water-snakes rolled about, showing their ugly cream- 
colored bodies. In the midst of this marsh was a house 
built of white bones of shipwrecked men ; there sat the Sea- 
witch, feeding a toad out of her mouth, just as a person 
might feed a little canary-bird with sugar. She called the 
ugly fat water-snakes her little chickens, and allowed 
them to crawl upward and all about her. 

" I know what you want," said the Sea-witch. " It is 



268 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

stupid of you, but you shall have your way, for it will bring 
you to grief, my pretty Princess. You want to get rid of 
your fish-tail, and to have two supports instead of it, like 
those the people of the earth walk with, so that the young 
Prince may fall in love with you, and you may get an im- 
mortal soul." And with this the Witch laughed loudly and 
disagreeably, so that the toad and the water-snakes tumbled 
down to the ground, where they crawled about. " You come 
just in time," said the Witch: "after to-morrow at sunrise I 
could not help you until another year had gone by. I will 
prepare a draught for you, with which you must swim to 
land to-morrow before the sun rises, and seat yourself there 
and drink it; then your tail will shrivel up and become 
what the people of the earth call legs; but it will hurt you — 
it will seem as if you were cut with a sharp sword. All 
who see you will declare you to be the prettiest human be- 
ing they ever beheld. You will keep your graceful walk; 
no dancer will be able to move so lightly as you; but every 
step you take will be as if you trod upon sharp knives, and 
as if your blood must flow. If you will bear all this, I can 
help you." 

" Yes ! " said the little Sea-maid, with a trembling voice ; 
and she thought of the Prince and the immortal soul. 

" But remember," said the Witch, " when you have once 
received a human form, you can never be a sea-maid again ; 
you can never return through the water to your sisters, or 
to your father's palace; and if you do not win the Prince's 
love, so that he forgets father and mother for your sake, 
is attached to you heart and soul, and tells the priest 
to join your hands, you will not receive an immortal 
soul. On the first morning after he has married another 
your heart will break, and you will become foam on the 
water." 

" I will do it," said the little Sea-maid : but she became as 
pale as death. 

" But you must pay me, too," said the Witch ; " and it is not 
a trifle that I ask. You have the finest voice of all here at 
the bottom of the water; with that you think to enchant 
him; but this voice you must give to me. The best thing 
you possess I will have for my costly draught ! I must give 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 269 

you my own blood in it, so that the draught may be as sharp 
as a two-edged sword." 

" But if you take away my voice," said the little Sea-maid, 
" what will remain to me ? " 

"Your beautiful form," repHed the Witch, "your grace- 
ful walk, and your speaking eyes: with those you can take 
captive a human heart. Well, have you lost your courage? 
Put out your little tongue, and then I will cut it off for 
my payment, and then you shall have the strong draught." 

" It shall be so," said the little Sea-maid. 

And the Witch put on her pot to brew the draught. 

" Cleanliness is a good thing," said she ; and she cleaned 
out the pot with the snakes, which she tied up in a big knot ; 
then she scratched herself, and let her black blood drop into 
it. The stream rose up in the strangest forms, enough to 
frighten the beholder. Every moment the Witch threw 
something else into the pot; and when it boiled thoroughly, 
there was a sound like the weeping of a crocodile. At last 
the draught was ready. It looked like the purest water. 

" There you have it," said the Witch. 

And she cut off the little Sea-maid's tongue, so that 
now the Princess was dumb, and could neither sing nor 
speak. 

She could see her father's palace. The torches were ex- 
tinguished in the great hall, and they were certainly sleep- 
ing within, but she did not dare to go to them, now that she 
was dumb and was about to quit them forever. She felt 
as if her heart would burst with sorrow. She crept into 
the garden, took a flower from each bed of her sisters, blew 
a thousand kisses toward the palace, and rose up through 
the dark blue sea. 

The sun had not yet risen when she beheld the Prince's 
castle, and mounted the splendid marble staircase. The 
moon shone beautifully clear. The little Sea-maid drank 
the burning sharp draught, and it seemed as if a two-edged 
sword went through her delicate body. She fell down in a 
swoon, and lay as if she were dead. When the sun shone 
out over the sea she awoke, and felt a sharp pain; but just 
before her stood the handsome young Prince. He fixed his 
coal-black eyes upon her, so that she cast down her own. 



270 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

and then she perceived that her fish-tail was gone, and that 
she had the prettiest pair of white feet a little girl could 
have. But she had no clothes, so she shrouded herself in 
her long hair. The Prince asked how she came there ! and 
she looked at him mildly, but very mournfully, with her dark- 
blue eyes, for she could not speak. Then he took her by the 
hand, and led her into the castle. Each step she took was, as 
the Witch had told her, as if she had been treading on pointed 
needles and knives, but she bore it gladly. At the Prince's 
right hand she moved on, light as a soap-bubble, and he, 
like all the rest, was astonished at her graceful, swaying 
movements. 

She now received splendid clothes of silk and muslin. 
In the castle she was the most beautiful creature to be seen ; 
but she was dumb, and could neither sing nor speak. Lovely 
slaves, dressed in silk and gold, stepped forward, and sang 
before the Prince and his royal parents; one sang more 
charmingly than all the rest, and the Prince smiled at her 
and clapped his hands. Then the little Sea-maid became 
sad; she knew that she herself had sung far more sweetly, 
and thought, — 

" O ! that he only knew I had given away my voice 
forever to be with him ! " 

Now the slaves danced pretty waving dances to the loveli- 
est music ; then the little Sea-maid lifted her beautiful white 
arms, stood on the tips of her toes, and glided dancing 
over the floor as no one had yet danced. At each move- 
ment her beauty became more apparent, and her eyes spoke 
more directly to the heart than the song of the slaves. 

All were delighted, and especially the Prince, who called 
her his little foundling; and she danced again and again, 
although every time she touched the earth it seemed as if 
she were treading upon sharp knives. The Prince said that 
she should always remain with him, and she received per- 
mission to sleep on a velvet cushion before his door. 

He had a page's dress made for her, that she might ac- 
company him on horseback. They rode through the bloom- 
ing woods, where the green boughs swept their shoulders, 
and the little birds sang in the fresh leaves. She climbed 
with the Prince up the high mountains, and although her 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 271 

delicate feet bled so that even the others could see it, she 
laughed at it herself, and followed him until they saw the 
clouds sailing beneath them, like a flock of birds travelling 
to distant lands. 

At home in the Prince's castle, when the others slept at 
night, she went out on to the broad marble steps. It cooled 
her burning feet to stand in the cold sea-water, and then she 
thought of the dear ones in the deep. 

Once, in the night-time, her sisters came, arm in arm. 
Sadly they sang as they floated above the water; and she 
beckoned to them, and they recognized her, and told her how 
she had grieved them all. Then she visited them every 
night ; and once she saw in the distance her old grandmother, 
who had not been above the surface for many years, and the 
Sea-king with his crown upon his head. They stretched out 
their hands toward her, but did not venture so near the land 
as her sisters. 

Day by day the Prince grew more fond of her. He loved 
her as one loves a dear, good child, but it never came into his 
head to make her his wife; and yet she must become his 
wife, or she would not receive an immortal soul, and would 
have to become foam on the sea on his marriage morning. 

" Do you not love me best of them all ? " the eyes of the 
little Sea-maid seemed to say, when he took her in his arms 
and kissed her fair forehead. 

" Yes, you are the dearest to me ! " said the Prince, " for 
you have the best heart of them all. You are the most de- 
voted to me, and are like a young girl whom I once saw, but 
whom I certainly shall not find again. I was on board a 
ship which was wrecked. The waves threw me ashore near a 
holy temple where several young girls performed the service. 
The youngest of them found me by the shore and saved my 
life. I only saw her twice: she was the only one in the world 
I could love, but you chase her picture out of my mind, you 
are so like her. She belongs to the holy temple, and there- 
fore my good fortune has sent you to me. We will never 
part ! " 

" Ah ! he does not know that I saved his life," thought the 
little Sea-maid. " I carried him over the sea to the wood 
where the temple stands. I sat there under the foam and 



272 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

looked to see if any one would come. I saw the beautiful 
girl whom he loves better than me." And the Sea-maid 
sighed deeply — she could not weep. " The maiden belongs 
to the holy temple," she said, "and will never come out into 
the world — they will meet no more. I am with him and see 
him every day ; I will cherish him, love him, give up my life 
for him." 

But now they said that the Prince was to marry, and that 
the beautiful daughter of a neighboring King was to be his 
wife, and that was why such a beautiful ship was being pre- 
pared. The story was, that the Prince travelled to visit the 
land of the neighboring King, but it was done that he might 
see the King's daughter. A great company was to go with 
him. The little Sea-maid shook her head and smiled; she 
knew the Prince's thoughts far better than any of the others. 

" I must travel," he had said to her ; '* I must see the beau- 
tiful Princess: my parents desire it, but they do not wish to 
compel me to bring her home as my bride. I cannot love 
her. She is not like the beautiful maiden in the temple 
whom you resemble. If I were to choose a bride, I would 
rather choose you, my dear dumb foundling with the speak- 
ing eyes." 

And he kissed her red lips and played with her long 
hair, so that she dreamed of happiness and of an immortal 
soul. 

** You are not afraid of the sea, my dumb child? " said he, 
when they stood on the superb ship which was to carry him 
to the country of the neighboring King; and he told her of 
storm and calm, of strange fishes in the deep, and of what 
the divers had seen there. And she smiled at his tales, for 
she knew better than any one what happened at the bottom 
of the sea. 

In the moonlight night, when all were asleep, except the 
steersman who stood by the helm, she sat on the side of 
the ship gazing down through the clear water. She fancied 
she saw her father's palace. High on the battlements stood 
her old grandmother, with the silver crown on her head, 
and looking through the rushing tide up to the vessel's keel. 
Then her sisters came forth over the water, and looked 
mournfully at her and wrung their white hands. She beck- 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 273 

oned to them and smiled, and wished to tell them that she 
was well and happy; but the cabin-boy approached her and 
her sisters dived down, so that he thought the white objects 
he had seen were foam on the surface of the water. 

The next morning the ship sailed into the harbor of the 
neighboring King's splendid city. All the church bells 
sounded, and from the high towers the trumpets were blown, 
while the soldiers stood there with flying colors and flashing 
bayonets. Each day brought some festivity with it; balls 
and entertainments followed one another; but the Princess 
was not yet there. People said she was being educated in a 
holy temple far away, where she was learning every royal 
virtue. At last she arrived. 

The little Sea-maid was anxious to see the beauty of the 
Princess, and was obliged to acknowledge it. A more lovely 
apparition she had never beheld. The Princess's skin was 
pure and clear, and behind the long dark eyelashes there 
smiled a pair of faithful, dark-blue eyes. 

" You are the lady who saved me when I lay like a corpse 
upon the shore ! " said the Prince ; and he folded his blush- 
ing bride to his heart. " O, I am too, too happy ! " he cried 
to the little Sea-maid. " The best hope I could have is ful- 
filled. You will rejoice at my happiness, for you are the 
most devoted to me of them all ! " 

And the little Sea-maid kissed his hand; and it seemed 
already to her as if her heart was broken, for his wedding 
morning was to bring death to her, and change her into foam 
on the sea. 

All the church bells were ringing, and heralds rode about 
the streets announcing the betrothal. On every altar fra- 
grant oil was burning in gorgeous lamps of silver. The 
priests swung their censers, and bride and bridegroom laid 
hand in hand, and received the bishop's blessing. The little 
Sea-maid was dressed in cloth of gold, and held up the 
bride's train ; but her ears heard nothing of the festive music, 
her eye marked not the holy ceremony; she thought of the 
night of her death, and of all that she had lost in this world. 

On the same evening the bride and bridegroom went on 
board the ship. The cannon .roared, all the flags waved ; in 
the midst of the ship a costly tent of gold and purple, with 



274 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

the most beautiful cushions, had been set up, and there the 
married pair were to sleep in the cool, still night. 

The sails swelled in the wind, and the ship glided smoothly 
and lightly over the clear sea. When it grew dark, colored 
lamps were lighted and the sailors danced merry dances on 
deck. The little Sea-maid thought of the first time when 
she had risen up out of the sea, and beheld a similar scene 
of splendor and joy; and she joined in the whirling dance, 
and flitted on as the swallow flits away when he is pursued; 
and all shouted and admired her, for she had danced so 
prettily. Her delicate feet were cut as if with knives, but 
she did not feel it, for her heart was wounded far more 
painfully. She knew this was the last evening on which 
she should see him for whom she had left her friends and 
her home, and had given up her beautiful voice, and had 
suffered unheard-of pains every day, while he was utterly 
unconscious of all. It was the last evening she should 
breathe the same air with him, and behold the starry sky 
and the deep sea; and everlasting night without thought or 
dream awaited her, for she had no soul, and could win none. 
And everything was merriment and gladness on the ship till 
past midnight, and she laughed and danced with thoughts 
of death in her heart. The Prince kissed his beautiful 
bride, and she played with his raven hair, and hand in hand 
they went to rest in the splendid tent. It became quiet on 
the ship; only the helmsman stood by the helm, and the 
little Sea-maid leaned her white arms upon the bulwark 
and gazed out toward the east for the morning dawn — the 
first ray, she knew, would kill her. Then she saw her sisters 
rising out of the flood; they were pale, like herself; their 
long, beautiful hair no longer waved in the wind ; it had been 
cut off. 

" We have given it to the witch, that we might bring you 
help, so that you may not die to-night. She has given us a 
knife ; here it is — look ! how sharp ! Before the sun rises 
you must thrust it into the heart of the Prince, and when 
the warm blood falls upon your feet they will grow together 
again into a fish-tail, and you will become a sea-maid again, 
and come back to us, and live your three hundred years 
before you become dead salt sea-foam. Make haste! He 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 275 

or you must die before the sun rises ! Our old grandmother 
mourns so that her white hair has fallen off, as ours did 
under the witch's scissors. Kill the Prince and come back ! 
Make haste ! Do you see that red streak in the sky ? In a 
few minutes the sun will rise, and you must die ! " 

And they gave a very mournful sigh, and vanished beneath 
the waves. The little Sea-maid drew back the curtain from 
the tent, and saw the beautiful bride lying with her head 
on the Prince's breast; and she bent down and kissed his 
brow, and gazed up at the sky where the morning red was 
gleaming brighter and brighter ; then she looked at the sharp 
knife, and again fixed her eyes upon the Priace, who in his 
sleep murmured his bride's name. She only was in his 
thoughts, and the knife trembled in the Sea-maid's hand. 
But then she flung it far away into the waves — they gleamed 
red where it fell, and it seemed as i^ drops of blood spurted 
up out of the water. Once more she looked with half -extin- 
guished eyes upon the Prince; then she threw herself from 
the ship into the sea, and felt her frame dissolving into foam. 

Now the sun rose up out of the sea. The rays fell mild 
and warm upon the cold sea- foam, and the little Sea-maid felt 
nothing of death. She saw the bright sun, and over her head 
sailed hundreds of glorious ethereal beings — she could see 
them through the white sails of the ship and the red clouds 
of the sky; their speech was melody, but of such a spiritual 
kind that no human ear could hear it, just as no human eye 
could see them; without wings they floated through the air. 
The little Sea-maid found that she had a frame like these, 
and was rising more and more out of the foam. 

" Whither am I going ? " she asked ; and her voice sounded 
like that of other beings, so spiritual, that no earthly music 
could be compared to it. 

" To the daughters of the air ! " replied the others. "A sea- 
maid has no immortal soul, and can never gain one, except 
she win the love of a mortal. Her eternal existence depends 
upon the power of another. The daughters of the air have 
likewise no immortal soul, but they can make themselves 
one through good deeds. We fly to the hot countries, where 
the close, pestilent air kills men, and there we bring coolness. 
We disperse the fragrance of the flowers through the air, 



276 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

and spread refreshment and health. After we have striven 
for three hundred years to accomplish all the good we can 
bring about, we receive an immortal soul, and take part in 
the eternal happiness of men. You, poor little Sea-maid, 
have striven with your whole heart after the goal we 
pursue; you have suffered and endured; you have by good 
works raised yourself to the world of spirits, and can gain 
an immortal soul after three hundred years." 

And the little Sea-maid lifted her glorified eyes toward 
God's sun, and for the first time she felt them fill with tears. 
On the ship there was again life and noise. She saw the 
Prince and his bride searching for her; then they looked 
mournfully at the pearly foam, as if they knew that she had 
thrown herself into the waves. Invisible, she kissed the 
forehead of the bride, fanned the Prince, and mounted with 
the other children of the air on the rosy cloud which floated 
through the ether. After three hundred years we shall thus 
float into Paradise ! 

"And we may even get there sooner," whispered a daugh- 
ter of the air. " Invisibly we float into the houses of men 
where children are, and for every day on which we find a 
good child that brings joy to its parents and deserves their 
love, our time of probation is shortened. The child does not 
know when we fly through the room ; and when we smile with 
joy at the child's conduct, a year is counted off from the 
three hundred ; but when we see a naughty or a wicked child, 
we shed tears of grief, and for every tear a day is added to 
our time of trial." 



THE ELFIN MOUND 

Several large lizards were running quickly into the cleft 
of an old tree; they could understand each other perfectly, 
for they all spoke the lizard language. 

" What a noise there is in the old Elfin mound ! " said one 
of the Lizards. ** What a rumbling and uproar ! For two 
nights I have not been able to close my eyes, and might just 
as well have had a toothache, for then I certainly should not 
have slept." 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 277 

"There is a something going on there," said the other 
Lizard. " They let the mound stand on four red poles till the 
crowing of the cock, to have it thoroughly aired; and the 
Elfin damsels have learnt new dances, in which there is 
some stamping. A something is going on, I'm sure." 

" Yes ; I have spoken to an earth-worm of my acquaint- 
ance," said the third Lizard. " The Earth-worm came direct 
from the mound, where day and night he had been rummag- 
ing about in the ground. He had heard a good deal ; for he 
can see nothing, poor wretch, but eavesdropping and listen- 
ing he understands to perfection. Visitors are expected at 
the Elfin mound; visitors of rank, but who they were, the 
Earth-worm either would not or could not say. All the 
Jacks-o'-the-lantern have been ordered to prepare a proces- 
sion by torch-light; and all the silver and gold, of which 
there is plenty in the Elfin mound, will be polished and laid in 
the moonshine." 

" But who can the strangers be ? " said all the Lizards. 
" What can be going on ? Listen ! what a humming and 
buzzing ! " 

At the same instant the Elfin mound opened, and an elderly 
Elfin damsel, without a back, but for the rest very respect- 
ably dressed, came tripping forth. It was the old Elfin 
King's housekeeper; she was distantly related to him, and 
wore an amber heart on her forehead. Her feet were so 
nimble — trip — trap — trip — trap ! — how she skipped along, 
right away to the moor to the Night-raven. 

" You will be invited to the Elfin mound, and that to- 
night," said she. " But would you not do us a great favor, and 
take charge of the invitations? As you do not give parties 
yourself, you must do us this service. Strangers of high rank 
are coming to us ; magicians of no small importance, let me 
tell you; and so the old Elfin King wants to show himself 
off to advantage." 

" Who is to be invited ? " asked the Night-raven. 

" Why, to the grand ball everybody may come ; men even, 
if they do but speak in their sleep, or are able to do some- 
thing in our way. But the principal banquet is to be very 
select ; those of the first rank only are to be invited. I have 
had a long discussion with the Elfin King; for, according 

HC XVII— R 



278 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

to my notions, we cannot even ask ghosts. The Sea-god 
and his daughters must be invited first; 'tis true, they don't 
much like coming on dry land, but they will have probably 
a wet stone to sit upon, or maybe something better still ; 
and then, I think, they will not refuse for this once. We 
must have the old Mountain Dwarfs of the first class, with 
tails; the Elf of the Brook, and the Brownie, and then, I 
think, we must not omit the Swart Elf, and the Skeleton 
Horse: they belong, it is true, to the clergy, who are not 
of our sort; however, 'tis their office, and they are, more- 
over, nearly related to us, and are continually paying us 
visits." 

" Caw ! " said the Night-raven, and flew away to invite 
the company. 

The Elfin maidens were already dancing on the Elfin 
mound: they danced with long shawls, woven of haze and 
moonshine ; and to all who like this sort of dancing, it seems 
pretty. In the centre of the Elfin mound was the great hall, 
splendidly ornamented; the floor was washed with moon- 
shine, and the walls were rubbed with witches' fat, so that 
they shone in the light like tulip-leaves. In the kitchen there 
was a great quantity of frogs among the dishes; adders' 
skins, with little children's fingers inside; salad of mush- 
room-seed; wet mice's snouts and hemlock; beer, from the 
brewery of the old Witch of the Moor; sparkling saltpetre 
wine from a grave-cellar, — all very substantial eating: rusty 
nails and church-window glass were among the delicacies 
and kickshaws. 

The old Elfin King had his golden crown polished with 
powdered slate-pencil. It was the pencil of the head-scholar ; 
and to obtain this one is very difficult for the Elfin King. 

They hung up the curtains in the bed-chamber, and fas- 
tened them with adder spittle. There was, indeed, a hum- 
ming and a buzzing in the Elfin mound ! 

" Now we must perfume the place with singed hair and 
pigs' bristles; and then I think I shall have done my share 
of the business," said the little Elfin damsel. 

" Dear papa," said the least of the daughters, " shall I 
now know who the high visitors are ? " 

" Well then," said he, " I suppose I must tell you. Two of 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 279 

my daughters are to show themselves off, in order to get 
married. Two will certainly be married. The aged Moun- 
tain Elf of Norway, who lives in the old Dovre-field, and 
possesses many craggy castles, and a gold-mine too, — which 
is a better thing than one imagines, — is coming here with his 
two sons; and they are to choose themselves wives. The 
hoary Elf is an honest old Norwegian, merry and straight- 
forward. I have known him since many a long day, when 
we drank together to better acquaintance and good fellow- 
ship. He came here to fetch his wife, — she is dead now, — 
who was the daughter of the Rock-king. O, how I long to 
see the old northern Elf ! His sons, people say, are coarse, 
blustering fellows; but maybe one wrongs them, and when 
older, they will improve." 

" And when will they come ? " asked his daughter. 

" That depends on wind and weather," said the Elfin King. 
" They travel economically ; they will come here by water. I 
wish they would go through Sweden ; but the old gentleman 
has no inclination that way. He does not keep pace with the 
time, and that I can't bear." 

At the same moment two Jacks-o'-the-lantern came hopping 
in, one faster than the other, and for that reason one was 
first. 

" They're coming ! they're coming ! " cried they. 

" Give me my crown ; and let me stand in the moonshine," 
said the Elfin King. 

The daughters held up their long shawls and bowed to 
the earth. 

There stood the hoary Mountain Elf, with a crown of 
hardened icicles and polished fir-cones on his head, and 
wrapped up in a mantle of fur and boots of the same. His 
sons, on the contrary, went with open throats, for they dis- 
dained the cold. 

'■* Is that a mound ? '* asked the lesser of the youths, point- 
ing to Elfin-home. " In Norway we call such a thing a hole." 

" Boy," said the father, " a mound rises upward, and a 
hole goes inward. Have you no eyes in your head ? " 

Now they went into the Elfin mound, where there was 
very choice company, certainly ; and had come together with 
such speed, one might have thought they had been borne 



280 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

thither on the breeze; however, the arrangements for every 
one were neat and pretty. The sea-folk sat at table in large 
water-butts; and they said they felt just as if they were at 
home. All observed good manners at the table, except the 
two little Norwegian Mountain Elves, who put their feet on 
the board, for they thought that all they did was becoming. 

"Take your feet away from the plates," said the old Elf; 
and then they obeyed, although not immediately. They 
tickled the ladies next them with fir-cones; then they pulled 
off their boots, to be more at ease, and gave them to the 
ladies to hold for them; but their father was very different. 
He told about the proud Norwegian rocks, and of the water- 
falls, which, covered with foam, dashed downwards, raging 
and roaring like thunder; he told about the salmon, that 
leaps up against the falling waters, when the Spirit of the 
flood plays on her golden harp. He related about the clear 
winter nights, when the bells on the sledges jingle, and the 
youths run with flaming torches over the smooth ice, which 
is so transparent that they could see how affrighted the fishes 
were beneath their feet. He, indeed, could recount so that 
one saw and heard the things he described; when, huzza! 
all of a sudden, the old Elf gave one of the Elfin damsels a 
smacking kiss ; and yet they were not even distantly related. 

The Elfin maidens were now to dance, simple as well as 
stamping dances ; and then came the most difficult one of all, 
the so-called " Dance out of the dance." Confound it ! their 
legs grew so long, one did not know which was the beginning 
nor which was the end: one could not distinguish legs 
from arms ; all was twirling about in the air like sawdust ; 
and they went whizzing round to such a degree that the 
Skeleton Horse grew quite sick, and was obliged to leave 
the table. 

" Brrrrr ! " said the gray-headed Elf ; " that's a regular 
Highland fling, as it's called. But what can they do besides 
spinning about like a whirlwind ? " 

" That you shall see," said the King, calling the youngest 
of his daughters. She was as delicate and fair as moonlight, 
and was the daintiest of all the sisters. She put a white 
wand in her mouth, and vanished. That was her art. 

But the old Mountain Elf said, " This was an art he should 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 281 

not at all like in his wife, nor did he think his sons would 
either." 

The other could walk beside her own self, as though she 
had a shadow, which is a thing Elves never have. 

The third one's talent was of a very different kind ; she had 
learned in the brewery of the Witch of the Moor, and she 
knew how to lard alder-wood with glow-worms. 

" She would make a good housewife," said the Mountain 
Elf, blinking, for he did not at all like drinking so much. 

Then came the fourth Elfin maiden ; she had a large golden 
harp, and when she touched the first string, everybody lifted 
up the left foot, for the Elves are all left-sided; and when 
she touched the next, everybody was forced to do whatever 
she pleased. 

" That is a dangerous damsel," said the Mountain Elf; but 
both his sons went out of the Elfin mound, for they were 
tired of it. 

"What can the next daughter do?" asked the old Elf. 

" I have learned to love the Norwegians," said she ; " and I 
will not marry unless I can go to Norway." 

But the youngest of the sisters whispered into the old Elf's 
ear, ** She only says that, because she has heard in an old 
Norwegian rhyme, that when ever the world is at an end, the 
rocks of Norway will stand firm; and that's the reason she 
wants to go there, for she is greatly afraid of death." 

"Ho, ho!" said the old Elf; "that's the way the wind 
blows, is it ? But what can the seventh and last do ? " 

" The sixth comes before the seventh," said the Elfin King, 
for he knew how to count; but the sixth at first would not 
come forward. 

" I can do nothing except tell people the truth," said she. 
" No one troubles about me, and I have enough to do to get 
my shroud ready." 

Now came the seventh and last. And what could she do? 
She could tell as many fairy-tales as she chose. 

" Here are my five fingers," said the old Mountain Elf. 
" For each one tell me a story." 

And the Elfin maiden took hold of him by the wrist, and 
he laughed till he was almost choked ; and when she came to 
the finger that wore a golden ring, just as if it knew that 



282 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

matrimony was going on, the old Elf said, " Hold fast what 
you have! The hand is yours! I will take you myself to 
wife ! " 

And the Elfin maiden said that the fairy-tale to the ring- 
finger and to the little finger were wanting. 

"O, we'll hear them in winter," said the old Elf; "and 
about the fir-tree too, and about the birch, and the gifts of the 
wood-nymphs, and about the crackling frost. You shall have 
opportunities enough of telling stories, for no one under- 
stands that yonder. And there we will sit in our rocky 
dwelling, where the pine-torch is burning, and where we 
drink mead out of the golden horns of the old Norwegian 
kings; I got some as a present from the Water-spirit. And 
when we are sitting so together, Garbo will come to pay us 
a visit, and he will sing to you all the songs of the mountain 
maidens. How merry we shall be! The salmon will leap 
in the waterfall, and dash against the walls of rock; but he 
will not be able to come in to us, after all ! Yes, yes ; one 
leads a happy, comfortable life in dear old Norway ! But 
where are the boys ? " 

Where were they? Why, they were running about the 
fields, blowing out the wills-o'-the-wisp that were coming 
quite orderly to have a procession with torches. 

" What's all this harum-scarum about ? " said the old Elf. 
" I have taken a step-mother for you ; methinks now you may 
choose a wife too." 

But they said they liked speechifying and boon companion- 
ship better, and had no taste for matrimony; and so they 
made speeches, tossed off their glasses, and turned them 
topsy-turvy, to show that they were quite empty. They then 
pulled off their coats, and lay down on the table to sleep. But 
the old Elf danced round the room with his young bride, and 
exchanged boots with her; for that is much more genteel 
than exchanging rings. 

" The cock is crowing ! " said the elderly damsel who at- 
tended to the housekeeping. " We must now bolt the shut- 
ters, lest the sun should spoil our complexions." 

And then the mound closed. The Lizards ran about and 
up and down the cleft tree and one said to the other, " How 
much I like the old Mountain Elf ! " 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 283 

" I like the merry boys better," said the Earth-worm ; but 
then he could not see, goor wretch ! 



THE WILD SWANS 

Far away, where the swallows fly when our winter comes 
on, lived a King who had eleven sons, and one daughter 
named Eliza. The eleven brothers were Princes, and each 
went to school with a star on his breast and his sword by his 
side. They wrote with pencils of diamond upon slates of 
gold, and learned by heart just as well as they read; one 
could see directly that they were Princes. Their sister Eliza 
sat upon a little stool of plate-glass, and had a picture-book 
which had been bought for the value of half a kingdom. 

O, the children were particularly well off; but it was not 
always to remain so. 

Their father, who was king of the whole country, married 
a bad Queen who did not love the poor children at all. On 
the very J5rst day they could notice this. In the whole pal- 
ace there was great feasting, and the children were playing 
there. Then guests came ; but instead of the children receiv- 
ing, as they had been accustomed to do, all the spare cake 
and all the roasted apples, they only had some sand given 
them in a tea-cup, and were told that they might make believe 
that was something good. 

The next week the Queen took the little sister Eliza into 
the country, to a peasant and his wife; and but a short time 
had elapsed before she told the King so many falsehoods 
about the poor Princes, that he did not trouble himself any 
more about them. 

" Fly out into the world and get your own living," said the 
wicked Queen. " Fly like great birds without a voice." 

But she could not make it so bad for them as she had 
intended, for they became eleven magnificent wild swans. 
With a strange cry they flew out of the palace windows, far 
over the park and into the wood. 

It was yet quite early morning when they came by the 
place where their sister Eliza lay asleep in the peasant's 
room. Here they hovered over the roof, turned their long 



284 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

necks, and flapped their wings; but no one heard or saw it. 
They were obliged to fly on, high up toward the clouds, far 
away into the wide world; there they flew into a great dark 
wood, which stretched away to the sea-shore. 

Poor little Eliza stood in the peasant's room and played 
with a green leaf, for she had no other playthings. And she 
pricked a hole in the leaf, and looked through it up at the 
sun, and it seemed to her that she saw her brothers' clear 
eyes; each time the warm sun shone upon her cheeks she 
thought of all the kisses they had given her. 

Each day passed just like the rest. When the wind swept 
through the great rose-hedges outside the house, it seemed to 
whisper to them, "What can be more beautiful than you?" 
But the roses shook their heads, and answered, " Eliza ! " 
And when the old woman sat in front of her door on Sunday 
and read in her hymn-book, the wind turned the leaves and 
said to the book, "Who can be more pious than you?" and 
the hymn-book said, " Eliza ! " And what the rose-bushes 
and the hymn-book said was the simple truth. 

When she was fifteen years old she was to go home. And 
when the Queen saw how beautiful she was, she became 
spiteful, and filled with hatred toward her. She would have 
been glad to change her into a wild swan, like her brothers, 
but she did not dare to do so at once, because the King 
wished to see his daughter. 

Early in the morning the Queen went into the bath, which 
was built of white marble, and decked with soft cushions 
and the most splendid tapestry ; and she took three toads and 
kissed them, and said to the first, — 

" Sit upon Eliza's head when she comes into the bath, that 
she may become as stupid as you. Seat yourself upon her 
forehead," she said to the second, " that she may become as 
ugly as you, and her father may not know her. Rest on her 
heart," she whispered to the third, " that she may receive an 
evil mind and suffer pain from it." 

Then she put the toads into the clear water, which at once 
assumed a green color; and calling Eliza, caused her to 
undress and step into the water. And while Eliza dived, one 
of the toads sat upon her hair, and the second on her fore- 
head, and the third on her heart; but she did not seem to 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 285 

notice it; and as soon as she rose, three red poppies were 
floating on the water. If the creatures had not been poi- 
sonous, and if the witch had not kissed them, they would have 
been changed into red roses. But at any rate they became 
flowers, because they had rested on the girl's head, and fore- 
head, and heart. She was too good and innocent for sorcery 
to have power over her. 

When the wicked Queen saw that, she rubbed Eliza with 
walnut juice, so that the girl became dark brown, and 
smeared a hurtful ointment on her face, and let her beau- 
tiful hair hang in confusion. It was quite impossible to 
recognize the pretty Eliza, 

When her father saw her he was much shocked, and de- 
clared this was not his daughter. No one but the yard dog 
and the swallows would recognize her; but they were poor 
animals who had nothing to say in the matter. 

Then poor Eliza wept, and thought of her eleven brothers 
who were all away. Sorrowfully she crept out of the castle, 
and walked all day over field and moor till she came into 
the great wood. She did not know whither she wished to go, 
only she felt very downcast, and longed for her brothers: 
they had certainly been, like herself, thrust forth into the 
world, and she would seek for them and find them. 

She had been only a short time in the wood when the night 
fell ; she quite lost the path, therefore she lay down upon the 
soft moss, prayed her evening prayer, and leaned her head 
against the stump of a tree. Deep silence reigned around, 
the air was mild, and in the grass and in the moss gleamed 
like a green fire hundreds of glow-worms; when she lightly 
touched one of the twigs with her hand, the shining insects 
fell down upon her like shooting stars. 

The whole night long she dreamed of her brothers. They 
were children again playing together, writing with their dia- 
mond pencils upon their golden slates, and looking at the 
beautiful picture-book which had cost half a kingdom. But 
on the slates they were not writing, as they had been accus- 
tomed to do, lines and letters, but the brave deeds they had 
done, and all they had seen and experienced; and in the 
picture-book everything was alive — the birds sang, and the 
people went out of the book and spoke with Eliza and her 



286 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

brothers. But when the leaf was turned, they jumped back 
again directly, so that there should be no confusion. 

When she awoke the sun was already standing high. She 
could certainly not see it, for the lofty trees spread their 
branches far and wide above her. But the rays played there 
above like a gauzy veil, there was a fragrance from the fresh 
verdure, and the birds almost perched upon her shoulders. 
She heard the plashing of water: it was from a number of 
springs all flowing into a lake which had the most delightful 
sandy bottom. It was surrounded by thick growing bushes, 
but at one part the stags had made a large opening, and here 
Eliza went down to the water. The lake was so clear, that 
if the wind had not stirred the branches and the bushes, so 
that they moved, one would have thought they were painted 
upon the depths of the lake, so clearly was every leaf mir- 
rored, whether the sun shone upon it or whether it lay in 
shadow. 

When Eliza saw her own face she was terrified — so brown 
and ugly was she; but when she wetted her little hand and 
rubbed her eyes and her forehead, the white skin gleamed 
forth again. Then she undressed and went down into the 
fresh water: a more beautiful king's daughter than she was 
could not be found in the world. And when she had dressed 
herself again and plaited her long hair, she went to the bub- 
bling spring, drank out of the hollow of her hand, and then 
wandered into the wood, not knowing whither she went. She 
thought of her dear brothers, and knew that Heaven would 
certainly not forsake her. It is God who lets the wild apples 
grow, to satisfy the hungry. He showed her a wild apple- 
tree, with the boughs bending under the weight of the fruit. 
Here she took her midday meal, placing props under the 
boughs, and then went into the darkest part of the forest. 
There it was so still that she could hear her own footsteps, 
as well as the rustling of every dry leaf which bent under her 
feet. Not one bird was to be seen, not one ray of sunlight 
could find its way through the great dark boughs of the 
trees ; the lofty trunks stood so close together that when she 
looked before her it appeared as though she were surrounded 
by sets of palings one behind the other. O, here was a soli- 
tude such as she had never before known ! 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 287 

The night came on quite dark. Not a single glow-worm 
now gleamed in the grass. Sorrowfully she lay down to 
sleep. Then it seemed to her as if the branches of the trees 
parted above her head, and mild eyes of angels looked down 
upon her from on high. 

When the morning came, she did not know if it had really 
been so or if she had dreamed it. 

She went a few steps forward, and then she met an old 
woman with berries in her basket, and the old woman gave 
her a few of them. Eliza asked the dame if she had not 
seen eleven Princes riding through the wood. 

" No," replied the old woman, " but yesterday I saw eleven 
swans swimming in the river close by, with golden crowns 
on their heads." 

And she led Eliza a short distance farther, to a declivity, 
and at the foot of the slope a little river wound its way. The 
trees on its margin stretched their long leafy branches across 
toward each other, and where their natural growth would 
not allow them to come together the roots had been torn out 
of the ground, and hung, intermingled with the branches, 
over the water. 

Eliza said farewell to the old woman, and went beside the 
river to the place where the stream flowed out to the great 
open ocean. 

The whole glorious sea lay before the young girl's eyes, 
but not one 'sail appeared upon its surface, and not a boat 
was to be seen. How was she to proceed? She looked at 
the innumerable little pebbles on the shore; the water had 
worn them all round. Glass, iron-stones, everything that 
was there, had received its shape from the water, which was 
much softer than even her delicate hand. 

" It rolls on unweariedly, and thus what is hard becomes 
smooth. I will be just as unwearied. Thanks for your les- 
son, you clear rolling waves ; my heart tells me that one day 
you will lead me to my dear brothers." 

On the foam-covered sea-grass lay eleven white swan 
feathers, which she collected into a bunch. Drops of water 
were upon them — whether they were dew-drops or tears 
nobody could tell. Solitary it was there on the strand, but 
she did not feel it, for the sea showed continual changes — 



288 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

more in a few hours than the lovely lakes can produce in a 
whole year. Then a great black cloud came. It seemed as 
if the sea would say, " I can look angry too ; " and then the 
wind blew and the waves turned their white side outward. 
But when the clouds gleamed red and the winds slept, the 
sea looked like a rose leaf ; sometimes it became green, some- 
times white. But however quietly it might rest, there was 
still a slight motion on the shore; the water rose gently like 
the breast of a sleeping child. 

When the sun was just about to set, Eliza saw eleven wild 
swans, with crowns on their heads, flying toward the land: 
they swept along one after the other, so that they looked like 
a long white band. Then Eliza descended the slope and hid 
herself behind a bush. The swans alighted near her and 
flapped their great white wings. 

As soon as the sun had disappeared beneath the water, the 
swans' feathers fell off, and eleven handsome Princes, Eliza's 
brothers, stood there. She uttered a loud cry, for although 
they were greatly altered, she knew and felt that it must be 
they. And she sprang into their arms and called them by 
their names; and the Princes felt supremely happy when 
they saw their little sister again ; and they knew her, though 
she was now tall and beautiful. They smiled and wept ; and 
soon they understood how cruel their step-mother had been 
to them all. 

" We brothers," said the eldest, " fly about as wild swans 
as long as the sun is in the sky, but directly it sinks down we 
receive our human form again. Therefore we must always 
take care that we have a resting-place for our feet when the 
sun sets, for if at that moment we were flying up toward the 
clouds, we should sink down into the deep as men. We do 
not dwell here; there lies a land just as fair as this beyond 
the sea. But the way thither is long ; we must cross the great 
sea, and on our path there is no island where we could pass 
the night, only a little rock stands forth in the midst of the 
waves; it is but just large enough for us to rest upon it 
close to each other. If the sea is rough, the foam spurts far 
over us, but we thank God for the rock. There we pass the 
night in our human form; but for this rock we could never 
visit our beloved native land, for we require two of the long- 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 289 

est days in the year for our journey. Only once in each year 
is it granted to us to visit our home. For eleven days we may 
stay here and fly over the great wood, from whence we can 
see the palace in which we were born, and in which our father 
lives, and the high church tower, beneath whose shade our 
mother lies buried. Here it seems to us as though the 
bushes and trees were our relatives; here the wild horses 
career across the steppe, as we have seen them do in our 
childhood; here the charcoal-burner sings the old songs to 
which we danced as children ; here is our father-land ; hither 
we feel ourselves drawn, and here we have found you, our 
dear little sister. Two days more we may stay here; then 
we must away across the sea to a glorious land, but which 
is not our native land. How can we bear you away? for we 
have neither ship nor boat." 

"In what way can I release you?" asked the sister; and 
they conversed nearly the whole night, only slumbering for a 
few hours. 

She was awakened by the rustling of the swans' wings 
above her head. Her brothers were again enchanted, and 
they flew in wide circles and at last far away; but one of 
them, the youngest, remained behind, and the swan laid his 
head in her lap, and she stroked his wings; and the whole 
day they remained together. Towards evening the others 
came back and when the sun had gone down they stood there 
in their own shapes. 

" To-morrow we fly far away from here, and cannot come 
back until a whole year has gone by. But we cannot leave 
you thus ! Have you courage to come with us ? My arm is 
strong enough to carry you in the wood; and should not all 
our wings be strong enough to fly with you over the sea ? " 

" Yes, take me with you," said Eliza. 

The whole night they were occupied in weaving a net of 
the pliable willow bark and tough reeds ; and it was great and 
strong. On this net Eliza lay down ; and when the sun rose, 
and her brothers were changed into wild swans, they seized 
the net with their beaks, and flew with their beloved sister, 
who was still asleep, high up towards the clouds. The sun- 
beams fell exactly upon her face, so one of the swans flew 
over her head, that his broad wings might overshadow her. 



290 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

They were far away from the shore when Eliza awoke : she 
was still dreaming, so strange did it appear to her to be car- 
ried high through the air and over the sea. By her side lay 
a branch with beautiful ripe berries, and a bundle of sweet- 
tasting roots. The youngest of the brothers had collected 
them and placed them there for her. She smiled at him 
thankfully, for she recognized him ; he it was who flew over 
her and shaded her with his wings. 

They were so high that the greatest ship they descried be- 
neath them seemed like a white sea-gull lying upon the 
waters. A great cloud stood behind them — it was a perfect 
mountain ; and upon it Eliza saw her own shadow and those 
of the eleven swans; there they flew on, gigantic in size. 
Here was a picture, a more splendid one than she had ever 
yet seen. But as the sun rose higher and the cloud was left 
farther behind them, the floating, shadowy images vanished 
away. 

The whole day they flew onward through the air, like a 
whirring arrow, but their flight was slower that it was wont to 
be, for they had their sister to carry. Bad weather came on ; 
the evening drew near ; Eliza looked anxiously at the setting 
sun, for tht lonely rock in the ocean could not be seen. It 
seemed to her as if the swans beat the air more strongly with 
their wings. Alas ! she was the cause that they did not ad- 
vance fast enough. When the sun went down, they must be- 
come men and fall into the sea and drown. Then she prayed 
a prayer from the depths of her heart; but still she could 
descry no rock. The dark clouds came nearer in a great, 
black, threatening body, rolling forward like a mass of lead, 
and the lightning burst forth, flash upon flash. 

Now the sun just touched the margin of the sea. Eliza's 
heart trembled. Then the swans darted downward so swiftly 
that she thought they were falling, but they paused again. 
The sun was half hidden below the water. And now for the 
first time she saw the little rock beneath her, and it looked no 
larger than a seal might look, thrusting his head forth from 
the water. The sun sank very fast ; at last it appeared only 
like a star; and then her foot touched the firm land. The 
sun was extinguished like the last spark in a piece of burned 
paper; her brothers were standing around her, arm in arm, 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 291 

but there was not more than just enough room for her and 
for them. The sea beat against the rock and went over her 
like small rain ; the sky glowed in continual fire, and peal on 
peal the thunder rolled; but sister and brothers held each 
other by the hand and sang psalms, from which they gained 
comfort and courage. 

In the morning twilight the air was pure and calm. As 
soon as the sun rose the swans flew away with Eliza from the 
island. The sea still ran high, and when they soared up aloft 
the white foam looked like millions of white swans swimming 
upon the water. 

When the sun mounted higher, Eliza saw before her, half 
floating in the air, a mountainous country with shining 
masses of ice on its water, and in the midst of it rose a castle, 
apparently a mile long, with row above row of elegant col- 
umns, while beneath waved the palm woods and bright 
flowers as large as mill-wheels. She asked if this was the 
country to which they were bound, but the swans shook their 
heads, for what she beheld was the gorgeous, ever-changing 
palace of Fata Morgana, and into this they might bring no 
human being. As Eliza gazed at it, mountains, woods, and 
castle fell down, and twenty proud churches, all nearly alike, 
with high towers and pointed windows, stood before them. 
She fancied she heard the organs sounding, but it was the 
sea she heard. When she was quite near the churches they 
changed to a fleet sailing beneath her, but when she looked 
down it was only a sea-mist gliding over the ocean. Thus 
she had a continual change before her eyes, till at last she 
saw the real land to which they were bound. There arose 
the most glorious blue mountains, with cedar forests, cities, 
and palaces. Long before the sun went down she sat on the 
rock, in front of a great cave overgrown with delicate green 
trailing plants looking like embroidered carpets. 

" Now we shall see what you will dream of here to-night," 
said the youngest brother; and he showed her to her bed- 
chamber. 

" Heaven grant that I may dream of a way to release you," 
she replied. 

And this thought possessed her mightily, and she prayed 
ardently for help; yes, even in her sleep she continued to 



292 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

pray. Then it seemed to her as if she were flying high in the 
air to the cloudy palace of Fata Morgana; and the fairy 
came out to meet her, beautiful and radiant; and yet the 
fairy was quite like the old woman who had given her the 
berries in the wood, and had told her of the swans with 
golden crowns on their heads. 

" Your brothers can be released," said she. " But have 
you courage and perseverance? Certainly, water is softer 
than your delicate hands, and yet it changes the shape of 
stones ; but it feels not the pain that your fingers will feel ; it 
has no heart, and cannot suffer the agony and torment you 
will have to endure. Do you see the stinging-nettle which I 
hold in my hand. Many of the same kind grow around the 
cave in which you sleep: those only, and those that grow 
upon church-yard graves, are serviceable, — remember that. 
Those you must pluck, though they will burn your hands into 
blisters. Break these nettles to pieces with your feet, and 
you will have flax; of this you must plait and weave eleven 
shirts of mail with long sleeves : throw these over the eleven 
swans, and the charm will be broken. But recollect well, 
from the moment you begin this work until it is finished, 
even though it should take years to accomplish, you must 
not speak. The first word you utter will pierce your brothers' 
hearts like a deadly dagger. Their lives hang on your 
tongue. Remember all this ! " 

And she touched her hand with the nettle; it was like a 
burning fire, and Eliza woke with the smart. It was broad 
daylight; and close by the spot where she had slept lay a 
nettle like the one she had seen in her dream. She fell upon 
her knees and prayed gratefully, and went forth from the 
cave to begin her work. 

With her delicate hands she groped among the ugly nettles. 
These stung like fire, burning great blisters on her arms and 
hands; but she thought she would bear it gladly if she could 
only release her dear brothers. Then she bruised every nettle 
with her bare feet and plaited the green flax. 

When the sun had set her brothers came, and they were 
frightened when they found her dumb. They thought it was 
some new sorcery of their wicked stepmother's; but when 
they saw her hands, they understood what she was doing for 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 293 

their sake, and the youngest brother wept. And where his 
tears dropped she felt no more pains, and the burning blisters 
vanished. 

She passed the night at her work, for she could not sleep 
till she had delivered her dear brothers. The whole of the 
following day, while the swans were away, she sat in soli- 
tude, but never had time flown so quickly with her as now. 
One shirt of mail was already finished, and now she began 
the second. 

Then a hunting-horn sounded among the hills, and she 
was struck with fear. The noise came nearer and nearer; 
she heard the barking dogs, and timidly she fled into 
the cave, bound into a bundle the nettles she had collected 
and prepared, and sat upon the bundle. 

Immediately a great dog came bounding out of the ravine, 
and then another, and another ; they barked loudly, ran back, 
and then came again. Only a few minutes had passed before 
all the huntsmen stood before the cave, and the handsomest 
of them was the King of the country. He came forward to 
Eliza, for he had never seen a more beautiful maiden. 

" How did you come hither, you delightful child ? " he 
asked. 

Eliza shook her head, for she might not speak — it would 
cost her brothers their deliverance and their lives. And she 
hid her hands under her apron, so that the King might not 
see what she was suffering. 

" Come with me," said he. " You cannot stop here. If 
you are as good as you are beautiful, I will dress you in 
velvet and silk, and place the golden crown on your head, 
and you shall dwell in my richest castle, and rule." 

And then he lifted her on his horse. She wept and wrung 
her hands; but the King said: — 

" I only wish for your happiness ; one day you will thank 
me for this." 

And then he galloped away among the mountains with her 
on his horse, and the hunters galloped at their heels. 

When the sun went down, the fair, regal city lay before 
them, with its churches and cupolas; and the King led her 
into the castle, where great fountains plashed in the lofty 
marble halls, and where walls and ceilings were covered with 

HC XVII— s 



294 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

glorious pictures. But she had no eyes for all this — she only 
wept and mourned. Passively she let the woman put royal 
robes upon her, and weave pearls in her hair, and draw 
dainty gloves over her blistered fingers. 

When she stood there in full array, she was dazzlingly 
beautiful, so that the court bowed deeper than ever. And the 
King chose her for his bride, although the Archbishop shook 
his head and whispered that the beauteous, fresh maid was 
certainly a witch, who blinded the eyes and led astray the 
heart of the King. 

But the King gave no ear to this, but ordered that the 
music should sound, and the costliest dishes should be served, 
and the most beauteous maidens should dance before them. 
And she was led through fragrant gardens into gorgeous 
halls; but never a smile came upon her lips or shone in her 
eyes: there she stood, a picture of grief. Then the King 
opened a little chamber close by, where she was to sleep. 
This chamber was decked with splendid green tapestry, and 
completely resembled » the cave in which she had been. On 
the floor lay the bundle of flax which she had prepared from 
the nettles, and under the ceiling hung the shirt of mail she 
had completed. All these things one of the huntsmen had 
brought with him as curiosities. 

" Here you may dream yourself back in your former 
home," said the King. " Here is the work which occupied 
you there, and now, in the midst of all your splendor, it 
will amuse you to think of that time." 

When Eliza saw this that lay so near her heart, a smile 
played round her mouth and the crimson blood came back 
into her cheeks. She thought of her brothers' deliverance, 
and kissed the King's hand ; and he pressed her to his heart, 
and caused the marriage feast to be announced by all the 
church bells. The beautiful dumb girl out of the wood was 
to become the Queen of the country. 

Then thQ Archbishop whispered evil words into the King's 
ear, but they did not sink into the King's heart. The mar- 
riage would take place; the Archbishop himself was obliged 
to place the crown on her head, and with wicked spite he 
pressed the narrow circlet so tightly upon her brow that it 
pained her. But a heavier ring lay close around her heart — 



ANDERSEN'vS TALES 295 

sorrow for her brothers; she did not feel the bodily pain. 
Her mouth was dumb, for a single word would cost her 
brothers their lives, but her eyes glowed with love for the 
kind, handsome King, who did everything to rejoice her. 
She loved him with her whole heart, more and more every 
day. O that she had been able to confide in him and to tell 
him of her grief ! But she was compelled to be dumb, and 
to finish her work in silence. Therefore at night she crept 
away from his side, and went quietly into the little chamber 
which was decorated like the cave, and wove one shirt of 
mail after another. But when she began the seventh she had 
no flax left. 

She knew that in the church-yard nettles were growing 
that she could use; but she must pick them herself, and how 
was she to go out there ? 

" O, what is the pain in my fingers to the torment my 
heart endures ? " thought she. " I must venture it, and help 
will not be denied me ! " 

With a trembling heart, as though the deed she purposed 
doing had been evil, she crept into the garden in the moon- 
light night, and went through the lanes and through the de- 
serted streets to the church-yard. There, on one of the 
broadest tombstones, she saw sitting a circle of lamias. 
These hideous wretches took off their ragged garments, as 
if they were going to bathe; then with their skinny fingers 
they clawed open the fresh graves, and with fiendish greed 
they snatched up the corpses and ate the flesh. Eliza was 
obliged to pass close by them, and they fastened their evil 
glances upon her; but she prayed silently, and collected the 
burning nettles, and carried them into the castle. 

Only one person had seen her, and that was the Arch- 
bishop. He was awake while others slept. Now he felt 
sure his opinion was correct, that all was not as it should be 
with the Queen ; she was a witch, and thus she had bewitched 
the King and the whole people. 

In secret he told the King what he had seen and what he 
feared ; and when the hard words came from his tongue, the 
pictures of saints in the cathedral shook their heads, as 
though they could have said, " It is not so ! Eliza is inno- 
cent ! " But the Archbishop interpreted this differently — he 



296 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

thought they were bearing witness against her, and shaking 
their heads at her sinfulness. Then two heavy tears rolled 
down the King's cheeks; he went home with doubt in his 
heart, and at night pretended to be asleep ; but no quiet sleep 
came upon his eyes, for he noticed Eliza got up. Every 
night she did this, and each time he followed her silently, 
and saw how she disappeared from her chamber. 

From day to day his face became darker. Eliza saw it, 
but did not understand the reason; but it frightened her — 
and what did she not suffer in her heart for her brothers? 
Her hot tears flowed upon the royal velvet and purple; they 
lay there like sparkling diamonds, and all who saw the splen- 
dor wished they were queens. In the mean time she had 
almost finished her work. Only one shirt of mail was still 
to be completed, but she had no flax left, and not a single 
nettle. Once more, for the last time, therefore, she must go 
to the church-yard, only to pluck a few handfuls. She 
thought with terror of this solitary wandering and of the 
horrible lamias, but her will was firm as her trust in Provi- 
dence. 

Eliza went on, but the King and the Archbishop followed 
her. They saw her vanish into the church-yard through the 
wicket-gate ; and when they drew near, the lamias were sit- 
ting upon the tomb-stone as Eliza had seen them; and the 
King turned aside, for he fancied her among them, whose 
head had rested against his breast that very evening. 

" The people must condemn her," said he. 

And the people condemned her to suffer death by fire. 

Out of the gorgeous regal halls she was led into a dark, 
damp cell, where the wind whistled through the grated win- 
dow ; instead of velvet and silk they gave her the bundle of 
nettles which she had collected; on this she could lay her 
head; and the hard, burning coats of mail which she had 
woven were to be her coverlet. But nothing could have been 
given her that she liked better. She resumed her work and 
prayed. Without, the street boys were singing jeering songs 
about her, and not a soul comforted her with a kind word. 

But toward evening there came the whirring of a swan's 
wings close by the grating — it was the youngest of her 
brothers. He had found his sister, and she sobbed aloud 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 297 

with joy, though she knew that the approaching night would 
probably be the last she had to live. But now the work was 
almost finished, and her brothers were here. 

Now came the Archbishop, to stay with her in her last 
hour, for he had promised the King to do so. And she 
shook her head, and with looks and gestures she begged him 
to depart, for in this night she must finish her work, or else 
all would be in vain, all her tears, her pain, and her sleepless 
nights. The Archbishop withdrew, uttering evil words against 
her; but poor Eliza knew she was innocent, and continued 
her work. 

It was still twilight ; not till an hour afterward would the 
sun rise. And the eleven brothers stood at the castle gate, 
and demanded to be brought before the King. That could 
not be, they were told, for it was still almost night ; the King 
was asleep, and might not be disturbed. They begged, they 
threatened, and the sentries came, yes, even the King himself 
came out, and asked what was the meaning of this. At that 
moment the sun rose, and no more were the brothers to be 
seen, but eleven wild swans flew away over the castle. 

All the people came flocking out at the town gate, for they 
wanted to see the witch burned. An old horse drew the cart 
on which she sat. They had put upon her a garment of 
coarse sackcloth. Her lovely hair hung loose about her 
beautiful head; her cheeks were as pale as death; and her 
lips moved silently, while her fingers were engaged with the 
green flax. Even on the way to death she did not interrupt 
the work she had begun; the ten shirts of mail lay at her 
feet, and she wrought at the eleventh. The mob derided her. 

" Look at the red witch, how she mutters ! She has no 
hymn-book in her hand; no, there she sits with her ugly 
sorcery — tear it in a thousand pieces ! " 

And they all pressed upon her, and wanted to tear up the 
shirts of mail. Then eleven wild swans came flying up, and 
sat round about her on the cart, and beat with their wings; 
and the mob gave way before them, terrified. 

" That is a sign from Heaven ! She is certainly inno- 
cent ! " whispered many. But they did not dare to say it 
aloud. 

Now the executioner seized her by the hand; then she 



298 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

hastily threw the eleven shirts over the swans, and imme- 
diately eleven handsome Princes stood there. But the 
youngest had a swan's wing instead of an arm, for a sleeve 
was wanting to his shirt — she had not quite finished it. 

" Now I may speak ! " she said. " I am innocent ! " 

And the people who saw what happened bowed before her 
as before a saint; but she sank lifeless into her brothers' 
arms, such an affect had suspense, anguish, and pain had 
upon her. 

" Yes, she is innocent," said the eldest brother. 

And now he told everything that had taken place; and 
while he spoke a fragrance arose as of a million of roses, 
for every piece of fagot in the pile had taken root and was 
sending forth shoots; and a fragrant hedge stood there, tall 
and great, covered with red roses, and at the top a flower, 
white and shining, gleaming like a star. This flower the 
King plucked and placed in Eliza's bosom; and she arose 
with peace and happiness in her heart. 

And all the church bells rang of themselves, and the birds 
came in great flocks. And back to the castle went such a 
marriage-procession as no King had ever seen. 



THE GARDEN OF PARADISE 

Once there was a King's son. No one had so many and 
so beautiful books as he; everything that had happened in 
this world he could read there, and could see pictures of 
it all in lovely copper-plates. Of every people, and of 
every land he could get intelligence; but there was not 
a word to tell where the Garden of Paradise could be found, 
and it was just that of which he thought most. 

His grandmother had told him, when he was quite little, 
but was to begin to go to school, that every flower in this 
Paradise Garden was a delicate cake, and the pistils con- 
tained the choicest wine; on one of the flowers history was 
written, and on another geography or tables, so that one 
had only to eat cake, and one knew a lesson; and the more 
one ate, the more history, geography, or tables did one learn. 

At that time he believed this. But when he became a 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 299 

bigger boy, and learned more and became wiser, he under- 
stood well that the splendor in the Garden of Paradise must 
be of quite a different kind. 

" O, why did Eve pluck from the Tree of Knowledge? 
Why did Adam eat the forbidden fruit? If I had been he, 
it would never have happened — then sin would never have 
come into the world." 

That he said then, and he still said it when he was sev- 
enteen years old. The Garden of Paradise filled all his 
thoughts. 

One day he walked in the wood. He was walking quite 
alone, for that was his greatest pleasure. The evening 
came, and the clouds gathered together ; rain streamed down 
as if the sky were one single river from which the water 
was pouring; it was dark as it usually is at night in the 
deepest well. Often he slipped on the smooth grass, often 
he fell over the smooth stones which peered up out of the 
wet, rocky ground. Everything was soaked with water, and 
there was not a dry thread on the poor Prince. He was 
obliged to climb over great blocks of stone, where the water 
spurted from the thick moss. He was nearly fainting. 
Then he heard a strange rushing, and saw before him a great 
illuminated cave. In the midst of it burned a fire so large 
that a stag might have been roasted at it. And this was 
in fact being done. A glorious deer had been stuck, horns 
and all, upon a spit, and was turning slowly between two 
felled pine trunks. An elderly woman, large and strongly 
built, looking like a disguised man, sat by the fire, into 
which she threw one piece of wood after another. 

"Come nearer ! " said she. " Sit down by the fire and 
dry your clothes." 

" There's a great draught here ! " said the Prince ; and 
he sat down on the ground. 

"That will be worse when my sons come home," replied 
the Woman. "You are here in the Cavern of the Winds, 
and my sons are the four Winds of the world; can you 
understand that?" 

" Where are your sons ? " asked the Prince. 

" It is difiicult to answer when stupid questions are asked," 
said the Woman. "My sons do business on their own ac- 



300 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

count. They play at shuttlecock with the clouds up yonder 
in the King's hall." 

And she pointed upwards. 

" O, indeed ! " said the Prince. " But you speak rather 
gruffly, by the way, and are not so mild as the women I 
generally see about me." 

" Yes, they have most likely nothing else to do ! I must be 
hard, if I want to keep my sons in order; but I can do it, 
though they are obstinate fellows. Do you see the four 
sacks hanging there by the wall? They are just as fright- 
ened of those as you used to be of the rod stuck behind 
the glass. I can bend the lads together, I tell you, and then 
I pop them into the bag; we don't make any ceremony. 
There they sit, and may not wander about again until I 
think fit to allow them. But here comes one of them." 

It was the North Wind, who rushed in with piercing cold; 
great hailstones skipped about on the floor, and snow-flakes 
fluttered about. He was dressed in a jacket and trousers 
of bear-skin; a cap of seal-skin was drawn down over his 
ears; long icicles hung on his beard, and one hailstone after 
another rolled from the collar of his jacket. 

" Do not go so near the fire directly," said the Prince ; 
" you might get your hands and face frost-bitten." 

" Frost-bitten ? " repeated the North Wind, and he laughed 
aloud. " Cold is exactly what rejoices me most ! But what 
kind of little tailor art thou? How did you find your way 
into the Cavern of the Winds ? " 

" He is my guest," interposed the old Woman, " and if 
you're not satisfied with this explanation you may go into 
the sack ; do you understand me ? " 

You see that was the right way ; and now the North Wind 
told whence he came, and where fie had been for almost a 
month. 

" I came from the Polar Sea," said he ; " I have been in the 
bear's icy land with the walrus hunters. I sat and slept on 
the helm when they went away from the North Cape, and 
when I awoke, now and then, the storm-bird flew round my 
legs. That's a comical bird! He gives a sharp clap with 
his wings, and then holds them quite still and shoots along 
in full career." 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 301 

"Don't be too long-winded," said the Mother of the 
Winds. "And so you came to the Bear's Island?" 

"It is very beautiful there. There's a floor for dancing 
on as flat as a plate. Half-thawed snow, with a little moss, 
sharp stones, and skeletons of walruses and polar bears lay 
around, and likewise gigantic arms and legs of a rusty 
green color. One would have thought the sun had never 
shone there. I blew a little upon the mist, so that one could 
see the hut ; it was a house built of wreck-wood and covered 
with walrus-skins — the fleshy side turned outwards. It 
was full of green and red, and on the roof sat a live 
polar bear who was growling. I went to the shore to 
look after birds'-nests, and saw the unfledged nestlings 
screaming and opening their beaks; then I blew down into 
their thousand throats, and taught them to shut their mouths. 
Farther on the huge walruses were splashing like great 
maggots with pigs' heads, and teeth an ell long ! " 

" You tell your story well, my son," said the old Lady. 
" My mouth waters when I hear you ! " 

" Then the hunting began ! The harpoon was hurled 
into. the walrus's breast, so that a smoking stream of blood 
spurted like a fountain over the ice. When I thought of 
my sport, I blew, and let my sailing ships, the big icebergs, 
crush the boats between them. O, how the people whistled 
and how they cried! but I whistled louder than they. They 
were obliged to throw the dead walruses and their chests 
and tackle out upon the ice. I shook the snow-flakes over 
them, and let them drive south in their crushed boats with 
their booty to taste salt-water. They'll never come to Bear's 
Island again ! " 

" Then you have done a wicked thing ! " said the Mother 
of the Winds. 

"What good I have done others may tell," replied he. 
" But here comes a brother from the west. I like him best 
of all: he tastes of the sea and brings a delicious coolness 
with him." 

"Is that little Zephyr?" asked the Prince. 

"Yes, certainly, that is little Zephyr," replied the old 
Woman. " But he is not little. Years ago he was a pretty 
boy, but that's past now." 



302 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

He looked like a wild man, but he had a broad-brimmed 
hat on, to save his face. In his hand he held a club of 
mahogany, hewn in the American mahogany forests. It 
was no trifle. 

"Where do you come from?" said his mother. 

" Out of the forest wilderness," said he, " where the 
water-snake lies in the wet grass, and the people don't seem 
to be wanted." 

"What were you doing there?" 

" I looked into the deepest river, and watched how it 
rushed down from the rocks, and turned to spray, and shot 
up toward the clouds to carry the rainbow. I saw the 
wild buffalo swimming in the stream, but the stream car- 
ried him away. He drifted with the flock of wild ducks 
that flew up where the water fell down in a cataract. The 
buffalo had to go down it! That pleased me, and I blew 
a storm_, so that ancient trees were split up into splinters ! " 

"And have you done nothing else ? " asked the old Dame. 

" I have thrown somersaults in the Savannahs : I have 
stroked the wild horses and shaken the cocoa-nut palms. 
Yes, yes, I have stories to tell ! But one must not tell all 
one knows. You know that, old Lady." 

And he kissed his mother so roughly that she almost 
tumbled over. He was a terribly wild young fellow ! 

Now came the South Wind, with a turban on and flying 
Bedouin's cloak. 

" It's terribly cold out here ! " cried he, and threw some 
more wood on the fire. " One can feel that the North 
Wind came first." 

" It's so hot that one could roast a Polar bear here," said 
the North Wind. 

" You're a Polar bear yourself," retorted the South Wind. 

" Do you want to be put in the sack ? " asked the old 
Dame. "Sit upon the stone yonder and tell me where you 
have been." 

" In Africa, mother," he answered. " I was out hunting 
the lion with the Hottentots in the land of the Kaffirs. 
Grass grows there in the plains, green as an olive. There 
the ostrich ran races with me, but I am swifter than he. 
I came into the desert where the yellow sand lies: it looks 



ANDERSEN'S TALES - 303 

there like the bottom of the sea. I met a caravan. The 
people were killing- their last camel to get water to drink, 
but it was very little they got. The sun burned above and 
the sand below. The outspread deserts had no bounds. 
Then I rolled in the fine loose sand, and whirled it up in 
great pillars. That was a dance ! You should have seen how 
the dromedary stood there terrified, and the merchant drew 
the caftan over his head. He threw himself down before me, 
as before Allah, his God. Now they are buried — a pyramid 
of sand covers them all. When I some day. blow that away, 
the sun will bleach the white bones; then travellers may 
see that men have been there before them. Otherwise, one 
would not believe that, in the desert ! " 

" So you have done nothing but evil ! " exclaimed the 
Mother. " March into the sack !" 

And before he was aware, she had seized the South Wind 
round the body, and popped him into the bag. He rolled 
about on the floor; but she sat on the sack, and then he 
had to keep quiet. 

" Those are lively boys of yours," said the Prince. 

" Yes," she replied, " and I know how to punish them ! 
Here comes the fourth ! " 

That was the East Wind, who came dressed like a China- 
man. 

" O ! do you come from that region ?" said the mother. 
"I thought you had been in the Garden of Paradise." 

" I don't fly there till to-morrow," said the East Wind. 
" It will be a hundred years to-morrow since I was there. 
I come from China now, where I danced around the por- 
celain tower till all the bells jingled again ! In the streets 
the officials were being thrashed: the bamboos were broken 
upon their shoulders, yet they were high people, from the 
first to the ninth grade. They cried, ' Many thanks, my 
paternal benefactor ! ' but it did not come from their hearts. 
And I rang the bells and sang Tsing, Tsang, tsu ! ' " 

"You are foolish," said the old Dame. "It is a good 
thing that you are going into the Garden of Paradise to- 
morrow, that always helps on your education. Drink bravely 
out of the spring of wisdom, and bring home a little 
bottleful for me." 



304 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

" That I will do," said the East Wind. " But why have 
you clapped my brother South in the bag? Out with him! 
He shall tell me about the Phoenix bird, for about that bird 
the Princess in the Garden of Paradise always wants to hear, 
when I pay my visit every hundredth year. Open the sack, 
then you shall be my sweetest of mothers, and I will give 
you two pocketsful of tea, green and fresh as I plucked it 
at the place where it grew ! " 

"Well, for the sake of the tea, and because you are my 
darling boy, I will open the sack." 

She did so, and the South Wind crept out, but he looked 
quite downcast, because the strange Prince had seen his 
disgrace. 

" There you have a palm-leaf for the Princess," said the 
South Wind. " This palm-leaf was given me by the Phoenix 
bird, the only one who is in the world. With his beak he 
has scratched upon it a description of all the hundred years 
he has lived. Now she may read herself how the Phoenix 
bird set fire to her nest, and sat upon it, and was burned 
to death like a Hindoo's widow. How the dry branches 
crackled ! What a smoke and a steam there was ! At last 
everything burst into a flame, and the old Phoenix turned 
to ashes, but her egg lay red-hot in the fire; it burst with 
a great bang, and the young one flew out. Now this young 
one is ruler over all the birds, and the only Phoenix in the 
world. It has bitten a hole in the palm-leaf I have given 
you. That is a greeting to the Princess." 

"Let us have something to eat," said the Mother of the 
Winds. 

And now they all sat down to eat of the roasted deer. 
The Prince sat beside the East Wind, and they soon became 
good friends. 

"Just tell me," said the Prince, "what Princess is that 
about whom there is so much talk here? and where does 
the Garden of Paradise lie?" 

" Ho, ho ! " said the East Wind, " do you want to go 
there? Well, then, fly to-morrow with me! But I must 
tell you, however, that no man has been there since the 
time of Adam and Eve. You have read of them in your 
Bible histories ? " 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 305 

" Yes," said the Prince. 

" When they were driven away, the Garden of Paradise 
sank into the earth; but it kept warm its sunshine, its mild 
air, and all its splendor. The Queen of the Fairies lives 
there, and there lies the Island of Happiness, where death 
never comes, and where it is beautiful. Sit upon my 
back to-morrow, and I will take you with me ; I think it can 
very well be done. But now leave off talking, for I want 
to sleep." 

And then they all went to rest. 

In the early morning the Prince awoke, and was not a 
little astonished to find himself high above the clouds. He 
was sitting on the back of the East Wind, who was faith- 
fully holding him; they were so high in the air that the 
woods and fields, rivers and lakes, looked as if they were 
painted on a map below them. 

" Good morning ! " said the East Wind. " You might 
very well sleep a little longer, for there is not much to be 
seen on the flat country under us, unless you care to count 
the churches. They stand like dots of chalk on the green 
carpet." 

What he called green carpet was field and meadow. 

"It was rude of me not to say good-by to your mother 
and your brothers," said the Prince. 

" When one is asleep, one must be excused," replied the 
East Wind. 

And then they flew on faster than ever. One could hear 
them in the tops of the trees, for when they passed over them 
the leaves and twigs rustled ; one could hear them on the sea 
and on the lakes, for when they flew by the water rose 
higher, and the great ships bowed themselves toward the 
water like swimming swans. 

Toward evening, when it became dark, the great towns 
looked charming, for lights were burning below, here and 
there; it was just as when one has lighted a piece of 
paper, and sees all the little sparks which vanish one after 
another. And the Prince clapped his hands; but the East 
Wind begged him to let that be, and rather to hold fast, other- 
wise he might easily fall down and get caught on a church 
spire. 



306 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

The eagle in the dark woods flew lightly, but the East 
Wind flew more lightly still. The Cossack on his little 
horse skimmed swiftly over the surface of the earth, but 
the Prince skimmed more swiftly still. 

" Now you can see the Himalayas," said the East Wind. 
" That is the highest mountain range in Asia. Now we 
shall soon get to the Garden of Paradise." 

Then they turned more to the south, and soon the air was 
fragrant with flowers and spices; figs and pomegranates 
grew wild, and the wild vine bore clusters of red and purple 
grapes. Here both alighted, and stretched themselves on 
the soft grass, where the flowers nodded to the wind, as 
though they would have said, " Welcome ! " 

"Are we now in the Garden of Paradise ? " asked the 
Prince. 

" Not at all," replied the East Wind. " But we shall 
soon get there. Do you see the rocky wall yonder, and the 
great cave, where the vines cluster like a broad green 
curtain? Through that we shall pass. Wrap yourself in 
your cloak. Here the sun scorches you, but a step farther 
it will be icy cold. The bird which hovers past the cave has 
one wing in the region of summer and the other in the 
wintry cold." 

" So this is the way to the Garden of Paradise ? " ob- 
served the Prince. 

They went into the cave. Ugh ! but it was icy cold there, 
but this did not last long. The East Wind spread out 
his wings, and they gleamed like the brightest fire. What a 
cave was that! Great blocks of stone, from which the 
water dripped down, hung over them in the strangest 
shapes; sometimes it was so narrow that they had to creep 
on their hands and knees, sometimes as lofty and broad as 
in the open air. The place looked like a number of mor- 
tuary chapels, with dumb organ pipes, the organs them- 
selves being, petrified. 

" We are going through the way of death to the Garden 
of Paradise, are we not ? " inquired the Prince. 

The East Wind answered not a syllable, but he pointed 
forward to where a lovely blue light gleamed upon them. The 
stone blocks over their heads became more and more 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 307 

like a mist, and at last looked like a white cloud in the 
moonlight. Now they were in a deliciously mild air, fresh 
as on the hills, fragrant as among the roses of the valley. 
There ran a river clear as the air itself, and the fishes 
were like silver and gold: purple eels, flashing out blue 
sparks at every moment, played in the water below; and 
the broad water-plant leaves shone in the colors of the 
rainbow; the flower itself was an orange-colored burning 
flame, to which the water gave nourishment, as the oil to 
the burning lamp; a bridge of marble, strong, indeed, 
* but so lightly built that it looked as if made of lace 
and glass beads, led them across the water to the Island 
of Happiness, where the Garden of Paradise bloomed. 

Were they palm-trees that grew here, or gigantic water- 
plants? Such verdant, mighty trees the Prince had never 
beheld; the most wonderful climbing plants hung there in 
long festoons, as one only sees them illuminated in gold 
and colors on the margins of gold missal-books, or twined 
among the initial letters. Here were the strangest group- 
ings of birds, flowers, and twining lines. Close by, in the 
grass, stood a flock of peacocks, with their shining starry 
trains outspread. 

Yes, it was really so ! But when the Prince touched 
these, he found they were not birds, but plants; they were 
great burdocks, which shone like the peacock's gorgeous 
train. The lion and the tiger sprang to and fro like agile 
cats among the green bushes, which were fragrant as 
the blossom of the olive-tree; and the lion and the tiger 
were tame. The wild wood-pigeon shone like the most 
beautiful pearl, and beat her wings against the lion's mane; 
and the antelope, usually so timid, stood by, nodding its 
head, as if it wished to play too. 

Now came the Fairy of Paradise. Her garb shone like 
the sun, and her countenance was cheerful like that of a 
happy mother when she is well pleased with her child. 
She was young and beautiful, and was followed by a number 
of pretty maidens, each with a gleaming star in her hair. 
The East Wind gave her the written leaf from the Phoenix 
bird, and her eyes shone with pleasure. 

She took the Prince by the hand and led him into her 



308 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

palace, where the walls had the color of a splendid tulip- 
leaf when it is held up in the sunlight. The ceiling was 
a great sparkling flower, and the more one looked up at it, 
the deeper did its cup appear. The Prince stepped to the 
window and looked through one of the panes. Here he saw 
the Tree of Knowledge, with the serpent, and Adam and 
Eve were standing close by. 

"Were they not driven out?" he asked. 

And the Fairy smiled, and explained to him that Time had 
burned in the picture upon that pane, but not as people are 
accustomed to see pictures. No; there was life in it; the 
leaves of the trees moved, men came and went as in a dis- 
solving view. And he looked through another pane, and 
there was Jacob's dream, with the ladder reaching up into 
heaven, and the angels with great wings were ascending and 
descending. Yes, everything that had happened in the world 
lived and moved in the glass panes; such cunning pictures 
only Time could burn in. 

The Fairy smiled, and led him into a great lofty hall, whose 
walls appeared transparent. Here were portraits, and each 
face looked fairer than the last. There were to be seen mil- 
lions of happy ones who smiled and sang, so that it flowed 
together into a melody; the uppermost were so small that 
they looked like the smallest rose-bud when it is drawn as a 
point upon paper. And in the midst of the hall stood a great 
tree with rich, pendent boughs; golden apples, great and 
small, hung like oranges among the leaves. That was the 
Tree of Knowledge, of whose fruit Adam and Eve had eaten. 
From each leaf fell a shining red dew-drop ; it was as though 
the tree wept tears of blood. 

" Let us now get into the boat," said the Fairy ; " then we 
will enjoy some refreshment on the heaving waters. The 
boat rocks, yet does not quit its station ; but all the lands of 
the earth will glide past in our sight." 

And it was wonderful to behold how the whole coast 
moved. There came the lofty snow-covered Alps, with clouds 
and black pine-trees; the horn sounded with its melancholy 
note, and the shepherd trolled his merry song in the valley. 
Then the banana-trees bent their long, hanging branches over 
the boat; coal-black swans swam on the water, and the 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 309 

strangest animals and flowers showed themselves upon the 
shore. That was New Holland, the fifth great division of the 
world, which glided past with a background of blue hills. 
They heard the song of the priests, and saw the savages 
dancing to the sound of drums and of bone trumpets. Egypt's 
pyramids, towering aloft to the clouds ; overturned pillars and 
sphinxes half buried in the sand sailed past likewise. The 
northern lights shone over the extinct volcanoes of the Pole 
— it was a fire-work that no one could imitate. The Prince 
was quite happy, and he saw a hundred times more than we 
can relate here. 

" And can I always stay here ? " asked he. 

"That depends upon yourself," answered the Fairy. "If 
you do not, like Adam, yield to the temptation to do what is 
forbidden, you may always remain here." 

"I shall not touch the apples on the Tree of Knowledge !" 
said the Prince. "Here are thousands of fruits just as 
beautiful as those." 

"Search your own heart, and if you are not strong enough, 
go away with the East Wind that brought you hither. He is 
going to fly back, and will not show himself here again for a 
hundred years : the time will pass for you in this place as if it 
were a hundred hours, but it is a long time for the temptation 
of sin. Every evening, when I leave you, I shall have to call 
to you, 'Come with me!' and I shall have to beckon to you 
with my hand; but stay where you are: do not go with me, 
or your longing will become greater with every step. You 
will then come into the hall where the Tree of Knowledge 
grows; I sleep under its fragrant, pendent boughs; you will 
bend over me, and I must smile ; but if you press a kiss upon 
my mouth, the Paradise will sink deep into the earth and be 
lost to you. The keen wind of the desert will rush around 
you, the cold rain drop upon your head, and sorrow and woe 
will be your portion." 

"I shall stay here!" said the Prince. 

And the East Wind kissed him on the forehead, and 
said, — 

"Be strong, and we shall meet here again in a hundred 
years. Farewell ! farewell !" 

And the East Wind spread out his broad wings, and they • 

HO XVII— T 



310 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

flashed like sheet lightning in harvest-time, or like the north- 
ern light in the cold winter. 

"Farewell ! farewell !" sounded from among the flowers 
and the trees. Storks and pelicans flew away in rows like 
fluttering ribbons, and bore him company to the boundary of 
the garden. 

"Now we will begin our dances 1" cried the Fairy. "At 
the end, when I dance with you, when the sun goes down, 
you will see me beckon to you; you will hear me call to you, 
' Come with me ;' but do not obey. For a hundred years I 
must repeat this every evening; every time, when the trial is 
past, you will gain more strength; at last you will not think 
of it at all. This evening is the first time. Now I have 
warned you." 

And the Fairy led him into a great hall of white trans- 
parent lilies : the yellow stamens in each flower formed a little 
golden harp, which sounded like stringed instrument and 
flute. The most beautiful maidens, floating and slender, clad 
in gauzy mist, glided by in the dance, and sang of the happi- 
ness of living, and declared that they would never die, and 
that the Garden of Paradise would bloom forever. 

And the san went down. The whole sky shone like gold, 
which gave to the lilies the hue of the most glorious roses; 
and the Prince drank of the foaming wine which the maidens 
poured out for him, and felt a happiness he had never before 
known. He saw how the background of the hall opened, and 
the Tree of Knowledge stood in a glory which blinded his 
eyes ; the singing there was soft and lovely as the voice of his 
dear mother, and it was as though she sang, "My child ! my 
beloved child !" 

Then the Fairy beckoned to him, and called out per- 
suasively, — 

"Come with me ! come with me !" 

And he rushed toward her, forgetting his promise, — forget- 
ting it the very first evening; and still she beckoned and 
smiled. The fragrance, the delicious fragrance around be- 
came stronger, the harps sounded far more lovely, and it 
seemed as though the millions of smiling heads in the hall, 
where the Tree grew, nodded and sang, "One must know 
everything — man is the lord of the earth." And they were 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 311 

no longer drops of blood that the Tree of Knowledge wept; 
they were red, shining stars which he seemed to see. 

"Come ! come !" the quivering voice still cried, and at every 
step the Prince's cheeks burned more hotly and his blood 
flowed more rapidly. 

"I must!" said he. "It is no sin; it cannot be one. Why 
not follow beauty and joy? I only want to see her asleep; 
there will be nothing lost if I only refrain from kissing her : 
and I will not kiss her; I am strong and have a resolute will !" 

And the Fairy threw off her shining cloak and bent back 
the branches, and in another moment she was hidden among 
them. 

"I have not yet sinned," said the Prince, "and I will not." 

And he pushed the boughs aside. There she slept already, 
beautiful as only a fairy in the Garden of Paradise can be. 
She smiled in her dreams, and he bent over her, and saw 
tears quivering beheath her eyelids ! 

"Do you weep for me?" he whispered. "Weep not, thou 
glorious woman ! Now only I understand the bliss of Para- 
dise ! It streams through my blood, through my thoughts ; 
the power of the angel and of increasing life I feel in my 
mortal body ! Let what will happen to me now ; one moment 
like this is wealth enough !" 

And he kissed the tears from her eyes — his mouth touched 
hers. 

Then there resounded a clap of thunder so loud and dread- 
ful that no one had ever heard the like, and everything fell 
down; and the beautiful Fairy and the charming Paradise 
sank down, deeper and deeper. The Prince saw it vanish 
into the black night; like a little bright star it gleamed out 
of the far distance. A deadly chill ran through his frame, 
and he closed his eyes, and lay for a long time as one dead. 

The cold rain fell upon his face, the keen wind roared 
round his head, and then his senses returned to him. 

"What have I done?" he sighed. "I have sinned like 
Adam — sinned so that Paradise has sunk deep down !" 

And he opened his eyes, and the star in the distance — the 
star that gleamed like the Paradise that had sunk down — was 
the morning-star in the sky. 

He stood up, and found himself in the great forest, close 



312 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

by the Cave of the Winds, and the Mother of the Winds sat 
by his side: she looked angry, and raised her arm in the air. 

"The very first evening!" said she. "I thought it would 
be so ! Yes, if you were my son, you would have to go into 
the sack !" 

"Yes, he shall go in there !" said Death. He was a strong 
old man, with a scythe in his hand, and with great black 
wings. "Yes, he shall be laid in his coffin, but not yet: 1 
only register him, and let him wander awhile in the world 
to expiate his sins and to grow better. But one day I shall 
come. When he least expects it, I shall clap him in the 
black coffin, put him on my head, and fly up toward the star. 
There, too, blooms the Garden of Paradise ; and if he is good 
and pious he will go in there; but if his thoughts are evil, 
and his heart still full of sin^ he will sink with his coffin 
deeper than Paradise has sunk, and only every thousandth 
year I shall fetch him, that he may sink deeper, or that he 
may attain to the star — the shining star up yonder !" 



THE CONSTANT TIN SOLDIER 

There were once five-and-twenty tin soldiers; they were 
all brothers, for they had all been born of one old tin spoon. 
They shouldered their muskets and looked straight before 
them; their uniform was red and blue, and very splendid. 
The first thing they had heard in the world, when the lid 
was taken off their box, had been the words " Tin soldiers ! " 
These words were uttered by a little boy, clapping his hands ; 
the soldiers had been given to him, for it was his birthday ; 
and now he put them upon the table. Each soldier was 
exactly like the rest; but one of them had been cast last of 
all, and there had not been enough tin to finish him ; but he 
stood as firmly upon one leg as the others on their two; and 
it was jlist this soldier who became remarkable. 

On the table on which they had been placed stood many 
other playthings, but the toy that attracted most attention 
was a neat castle of card-board. Through the little windows 
one could see straight into the hall. Before the castle some 
little trees were placed round a little looking-glass, which was 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 313 

to represent a clear lake. Waxen swans swam on this lake, 
and were mirrored in it. This was all very pretty; but the 
prettiest of all was a little lady, who stood at the open door 
of the castle; she was also cut out in paper, but she had a 
dress of the clearest gauze, and a little narrow blue ribbon 
over her shoulders, that looked like a scarf; and in the mid- 
dle of this ribbon was a shining tinsel rose, as big as her 
whole face. The little Lady stretched out both her arms, for 
she was a dancer, and then she lifted one leg so high that 
the Tin Soldier could not see it at all, and thought that, like 
himself, she had but one leg. 

"That would be the wife for me," thought he; "but she 
is very grand. She lives in a castle, and I have only a box, 
and there are five-and-twenty of us in that. It is no place 
for her. But I must try to make acquaintance with her." 

And then he lay down at full length behind a snuff-box 
which was on the table ; there he could easily watch the little 
dainty lady, who continued to stand on one leg without 
losing her balance. 

When the evening came, all the other tin soldiers were put 
into their box, and the people in the house went to bed. Now 
the toys began to play at " visiting," and at " war," and 
" giving balls." The tin soldiers rattled in their box, for they 
wanted to join, but could not lift the lid. The Nut-cracker 
threw somersaults, and the Pencil amused itself on the table ; 
there was so much noise that the Canary woke up, and began 
to speak too, and even in verse. The only two who did not 
stir from their places were the Tin Soldier and the Dancing 
Lady ; she stood straight up on the point of one of her toes, 
and stretched out both her arms : and he was just as enduring 
on his one leg ; and he never turned his eyes away from her. 

Now the clock struck twelve — and, bounce ! — the lid flew 
off the snuf¥-box; but there was not snuff in it, but a little 
black goblin ; you see, it was a trick. 

" Tin Soldier," said the Goblin, " don't stare at things that 
don't concern you." 

But the Tin Soldier pretended not to hear him. 

" Just you wait till to-morrow ! " said the Goblin. 

But when the morning came, and the children got up, the 
Tin Soldier was placed in the window; and whether it was 



314 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

the Goblin or the draught that did it, all at once the window 
flew open, and the Soldier fell, head over heels, out of the 
third story. 

That was a terrible passage ! He put his leg straight 
up, and struck with his helmet downward, and his bayonet 
between the paving-stones. 

The servant-maid and the little boy came down directly to 
look for hipi, but though they almost trod upon him they 
could not see him. If the soldier had cried out, " Here I 
am ! " they would have found him ; but he did not think it 
fitting to call out loudly, because he war in uniform. 

Now it began to rain; the drops soon fell thicker, and at 
last it came down in a complete stream. When the rain was 
past, two street boys came by. 

** Just look ! " said one of them, " there lies a tin soldier. 
He must come out and ride in the boat." 

And they made a boat out of a newspaper, and put the Tin 
Soldier in the middle of it ; and so he sailed down the gutter, 
and the two boys ran beside him and clapped their hands. 
Goodness preserve us ! how the waves rose in that gutter, and 
how fast the stream ran ! But then it had been a heavy rain. 
The paper boat rocked up and down, and sometimes turned 
round so rapidly that the Tin Soldier trembled; but he re- 
mained firm, and never changed countenance, and looked 
straight before him, and shouldered his musket. 

All at once the boat went into a long drain, and it became 
as dark as if he had been in his box. 

" Where am I going now ? " he thought. " Yes, yes, that's 
the Goblin's fault. Ah ! if the little Lady only sat here with 
me in the boat, it might be twice as dark for what I should 
care." 

Suddenly there came a great water-rat, which lived under 
the drain. 

" Have you a passport ? " said the Rat. " Give me your 
passport." 

But the Tin Soldier kept silence, and only held his musket 
tighter than ever. 

The boat went on, but the Rat came after it. Hu ! how he 
gnashed his teeth, and called out to the bits of straw and 
wood, — 



. ANDERSEN'S TALES 3lS 

"Hold him! hold him! he hasn't paid toll— he hasn't 
shown his passport ! " 

But the stream became stronger and stronger. The Tin 
Soldier could see the bright daylight where the arch ended ; 
but he heard a roaring noise, which might well frighten a 
bolder man. Only think — just where the tunnel ended, the 
drain ran into a great canal; and for him that would have 
been as dangerous as for us to be carried down a great 
waterfall. 

Now he was already so near it that he could not stop. 
The boat was carried out, the poor Tin Soldier stiffening 
himself as much as he could, and no one could say that he 
moved an eyelid. The boat whirled round three or four 
times, and was full of water to the very edge — it must sink. 
The Tin Soldier stood up to his neck in water, and the boat 
sank deeper and deeper, and the paper was loosened more and 
more; and now the water closed over the Soldier's head. 
Then he thought of the pretty little Dancer, and how he 
should never see her again; and it sounded in the Soldier's 
ears : — 

"Farewell, farewell, thou warrior brave, 
Die Shalt thou this day." 

And now the paper parted, and the Tin Soldier fell out; 
but at that moment he was snapped up by a great fish. 

O, how dark it was in that fish's body ! It was darker yet 
than in the drain tunnel; and then it was very narrow, too. 
But the Tin Soldier remained unmoved, and lay at full 
length, shouldering his musket. 

The fish swam to and fro; he made the most wonderful 
movements, and then became quite still. At last something 
flashed through him like lightning. The daylight shone quite 
clear, and a voice said aloud, " The Tin Soldier ! " The 
fish had been caught, carried to market, bought, and taken 
into the kitchen, where the cook cut him open with a large 
knife. She seized the Soldier round the body with both her 
hands, and carried him into the room, where all were anxious 
to see the remarkable man who had travelled about in the 
inside of a fish; but the Tin Soldier was not at all proud. 
They placed him on the table, and there — no! What curi- 
ous things may happen in the world ! The Tin Soldier was 



316 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

in the very room in which he had been before! he saw the 
same children, and the same toys stood upon the table ; and 
there was the pretty castle with the graceful little Dancer. 
She was still balancing herself on one leg, and held the other 
extended in the air. She was faithful too. That moved the 
Tin Soldier: he was very near weeping tin tears, but that 
would not have been proper. He looked at her, but they 
said nothing to each other. 

Then one of the little boys took the Tin Soldier and flung 
him into the stove. He gave no reason for doing this. It 
must have been the fault of the Goblin in the snuff-box. 

The Tin Soldier stood there quite illuminated, and felt a 
heat that was terrible ; but whether this heat proceeded from 
the real fire or from love he did not know. The colors had 
quite gone off from him ; but whether that had happened on 
the journey, or had been caused by grief, no one could say. 
He looked at the little Lady, she looked at him, and he felt 
that he was melting; but he stood firm, shouldering his mus- 
ket. Then suddenly the door flew open, and the draught of 
air caught the Dancer, and she flew like a sylph just into the 
stove to the Tin Soldier, and flashed up in a flame, and then 
was gone ! Then the Tin soldier melted down into a lump, 
and when the servant-maid took the ashes out next day, she 
found him in the shape of a little tin heart. But of the 
Dancer nothing remained but the tinsel rose, and that was 
burned as black as a coal. 



THE DAISY 

Now you shall hear ! 

Out in the country, close by the road-side, there was a 
country-house : you yourself have certainly once seen it. Be- 
fore it is a little garden with flowers, and a paling which is 
painted. Close by it, by the ditch, in the midst of the most 
beautiful green grass, grew a little Daisy. The sun shone as 
warmly and as brightly upon it as on the great splendid gar- 
den flowers, and so it grew from hour to hour. One morning 
it stood in full bloom, with its little shining white leaves 
spreading like rays round the little yellow sun in the centre. 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 317 

It never thought that no man would notice it down in the 
grass, and that it was a poor despised floweret; no, it was 
very merry, and turned to the warm sun, looked up at it, and 
listened to the Lark caroling high in the air. 

The little Daisy was as happy as if it were a great holiday, 
and yet it was only a Monday. All the children were at 
school; and while they sat on their benches learning, it sat 
on its little green stalk, and learned also from the warm sun, 
and from all around, how good God is. And the Daisy was 
very glad that everything that it silently felt was sung so 
loudly and charmingly by the Lark. And the Daisy looked 
up with a kind of respect to the happy bird who could sing 
and fly; but it was not at all sorrowful because it could not 
fly and sing also. 

" I can see and hear," it thought : " the sun shines on 
me, and the forest kisses me. O, how richly have I been 
gifted ! " 

Within the palings stood many stiff, aristocratic flowers — 
the less scent they had the more they flaunted. The peonies 
blew themselves out to be greater than the roses, but size will 
not do it; the tulips had the most splendid colors, and they 
knew that, and held themselves bolt upright, that they might 
be seen more plainly. They did not notice the little Daisy 
outside there, but the Daisy looked at them the more, and 
thought, " How rich and beautiful they are ! Yes, the pretty 
bird flies across to them and visits them. I am glad that I 
stand so near them, for at any rate I can enjoy the sight of 
their splendor!" And just as she thought that — "keevit!" 
— down came flying the Lark, but not down to the peonies 
and tulips — ^no, down into the grass to the lowly Daisy, 
which started so with joy that it did not know what to think. 

The little bird danced round about it, and sang, — 

"O, how soft the grass is! and see what a lovely little 
flower, with gold in its heart and silver on its dress ! " 

For the yellow point in the Daisy looked like gold, and 
the little leaves around it shone silvery white. 

How happy was the little Daisy — no one can conceive 
how happy ! The bird kissed it with his beak, sang to it, and 
then flew up again into the blue air. A quarter of an hour 
passed, at least, before the Daisy could recover itself. Half 



318 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

ashamed, yet inwardly rejoiced, it looked at the other flowers 
in the garden, for they had seen the honor and happiness it 
had gained, and must understand what a joy it was. But the 
tulips stood up twice as stiff as before, and they looked quite 
peaky in the face and quite red, for they had been vexed. 
The peonies were quite wrong-headed : it was well they could 
not speak, or the Daisy would have received a good scolding. 
The poor little flower could see very well that they were not 
in a good humor, and that hurt it sensibly. At this moment 
there came into the garden a girl with a great sharp, shining 
knife; she went straight up to the tulips, and cut off one after 
another of them. 

" O ! " sighed the little Daisy, " that is dreadful ! Now it 
is all over with them." 

Then the girl went away with the tulips. The Daisy was 
glad to stand out in the grass, and to be only a poor little 
flower ; it felt very grateful ; and when the sun went down it 
folded its leaves and went to sleep, and dreamed all night 
long about the sun and the pretty little bird. 

The next morning, when the flower again happily stretched 
out all its white leaves, like little arms, toward the air and 
the light, it recognized the voice of the bird, but the song he 
was singing sounded mournfully. Yes, the poor Lark had 
good reason to be sad : he was caught, and now sat in a cage 
close by the open window. He sang of free and happy roam- 
ing, sang of the young green corn in the fields, and of the 
glorious journey he might make on his wings high through 
the air. The poor Lark was not in good spirits, for there 
he sat a prisoner in a cage. 

The little Daisy wished very much to help him. But what 
was it to do? Yes, that was difficult to make out. It quite 
forgot how everything was so beautiful around, how warm 
the sun shone, and how splendidly white its own leaves were. 
Ah ! it could think only of the imprisoned bird, and how it 
was powerless to do anything for him. 

Just then two little boys came out of the garden. One of 
them carried in his hand the knife which the girl had used 
to cut off the tulips. They went straight up to the little Daisy, 
which could not at all make out what they wanted. 

" Here we may cut a capital piece of turf for the Lark/' 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 319 

said one of the boys ; and he began to cut off a square patch 
round about the Daisy, so that the flower remained standing 
in its piece of grass. 

" Tear off the flower ! " said the other boy. 

And the Daisy trembled with fear, for to be torn off would 
be to lose its life; and now it wanted particularly to live, as 
it was to be given with the piece of turf to the captive Lark. 

" No, let it stay," said the other boy ; " it makes such a 
nice ornament." 

And so it remained, and was put into the Lark's cage. But 
the poor bird complained aloud of his lost liberty, and beat 
his wings against the wires of his prison ; and the little Daisy 
could not speak — could say no consoling word to him, gladly 
as it would have done so. And thus the whole morning 
passed. 

" Here is no water," said the captive Lark. " They are all 
gone out, and have forgotten to give me anything to drink. 
My throat is dry and burning. It is like fire and ice within 
me, and the air is so close. O, I must die ! I must leave the 
warm sunshine, the fresh green, and all the splendor that 
God has created ! " 

And then he thrust his beak into the cool turf to refresh 
himself a little with it. Then the bird's eye fell upon the 
Daisy, and he nodded to it, and kissed it with his beak, and 
said, — 

*' You also must wither in here, poor little flower. They 
have given you to me with the little patch of green grass on 
which you grow, instead of the whole world which was mine 
out there! Every little blade of grass shall be a great tree 
for me, and every one of your fragrant leaves a great flower. 
Ah, you only tell me how much I have lost ! " 

" If I could only comfort him ! " thought the Daisy. 

It could not stir a leaf ; but the scent which streamed forth 
from its delicate leaves was far stronger than is generally 
found in these flowers ; the bird also noticed that, and though 
he was fainting with thirst, and in his pain plucked up the 
green blades of grass, he did not touch the flower. 

The evening came on, and yet nobody appeared to bring 
the poor bird a drop of water. Then he stretched out his 
pretty wings and beat the air frantically with them ; his song 



320 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

changed to a mournful piping, his little head sank down 
toward the flower, and the bird's heart broke with want and 
yearning. Then the flower could not fold its leaves, as it 
had done on the previous evening, and sleep ; it drooped, sor- 
rowful and sick, toward the earth. 

Not till the next morn did the boys come; and when they 
found the bird dead they wept — wept many tears — and dug 
him a neat grave, which they adorned with leaves of flowers. 
The bird's corpse was put into a pretty red box, for he was 
to be royally buried — the poor bird! While he was alive 
and sang they forgot him, and let him sit in his cage and 
suffer want; but now that he was dead he had adornment 
and many tears. 

But the patch of turf with the Daisy on it was thrown 
out into the high road: no one thought of the flower that 
had felt the most for the little bird, and would have been 
so glad to console him. 

THE NIGHTINGALE 

In China, you must know, the Emperor is a Chinaman, and 
all whom he has about him are Chinamen too. It happened 
a good many years ago, but that's just why it's worth while to 
hear the story, before it is forgotten. The Emperor's palace 
was the most splendid in the world; it was made entirely of 
porcelain, very costly, but so delicate and brittle that one had 
to take care how one touched it. In the garden were to be 
seen the most wonderful flowers, and to the costliest of them 
silver bells were tied, which sounded, so that nobody should 
pass by without noticing the flowers. Yes, everything in the 
Emperor's garden was admirably arranged. And it extended 
so far, that the gardener himself did not know where the end 
was. If a man went on and on, he came into a glorious forest 
with high trees and deep lakes. The wood extended straight 
down to the sea, which was blue and deep; great ships could 
sail to and fro beneath the branches of the trees ; and in the 
trees lived a nightingale, which sang so splendidly that 
even the poor Fisherman, who had many other things to do, 
stopped still and listened, when he had gone out at night to 
throw out his nets, and heard the Nightingale. 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 321 

"How beautiful that is!" he said; but he was obliged to 
attend to his property, and thus forgot the bird. But when in 
the next night the bird sang again, and the Fisherman heard 
it, he exclaimed again, "How beautiful that is !" 

From all the countries of the world travellers came to the 
city of the Emperor and admired it, and the palace, and the 
garden, but when they heard the Nightingale, they said, 
'That is the best of all !" 

And the travellers told of it when they came home; and 
the learned men wrote many books about the town, the pal- 
ace, and the garden. But they did not forget the Nightingale ; 
that was placed highest of all; and those who were poets 
wrote most magnificent poems about the Nightingale in the 
wood by the deep lake. 

The books went through all the world, and a few of them 
once came to the Emperor. He sat in his golden chair, and 
read, and read: every moment he nodded his head, for it 
pleased him to peruse the masterly descriptions of the city, 
the palace, and the garden. "But the Nightingale is the best 
of all !" — it stood written there. 

"What's that?" exclaimed the Emperor. "I don't know 
the Nightingale at all ! Is there such a bird in my empire, 
and even in my garden ? I've never heard of that. To think 
that I should have to learn such a thing for the first time from 
books !" 

And hereupon he called his Cavalier. This Cavalier was 
so grand that if any one lower in rank than himself dared to 
speak to him, or to ask him any question, he answered noth- 
ing but "P !" — and that meant nothing. 

"There is said to be a wonderful bird here called a Night- 
ingale!" said the Emperor. "They say it is the best thing 
in all my great empire. Why have I never heard anything 
about it?" 

"I have never heard him named," replied the Cavalier. 
"He has never been introduced at court." 

"I command that he shall appear this evening, and sing 
before me," said the Emperor. "All the world knows what I 
possess, and I do not know it myself !" 

"I have never heard him mentioned," said the Cavalier, "I 
will seek for him. I will find him." 



322 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

But where was he to be found? The Cavalier ran up and 
down all the staircases, through halls and passages, but no one 
among all those whom he met had heard talk of the Nightin- 
gale. And the Cavalier ran back to the Emperor, and said 
that it must be a fable invented by the writers of books. 

"Your Imperial Majesty cannot believe how much is writ- 
ten that is fiction, besides something that they call the black 
art." 

"But the book in which I read this," said the Emperor, 
"was sent to me by the high and mighty Emperor of Japan, 
and therefore it cannot be a falsehood. I will hear the 
Nightingale! It must be here this evening! It has my 
imperial favor; and if it does not come, all the court shall be 
trampled upon after the court has supped !" 

"Tsing-pe !" said the Cavalier ; and again he ran up and 
down all the staircases, and through all the halls and corri- 
dors; and half the court ran with him, for the courtiers did 
not like being trampled upon. 

Then there was a great inquiry after the wonderful Night- 
ingale, which all the world knew excepting the people at 
court. 

At last thfiy met with a poor little girl in the kitchen, who 
said, — 

"The Nightingale? I know it well; yes, it can sing glori- 
ously. Every evening I get leave to carry my poor sick 
mother the scraps from the table. She lives down by the 
strand, and when I get back and am tired, and rest in the 
wood, then I hear the Nightingale sing. And then the water 
comes into my eyes, and it is just as if my mother kissed 
me!" 

"Little Kitchen Girl," said the Cavalier, "I will get you a 
place ih the kitchen, with permission to see the Emperor dine, 
if you will lead us to the Nightingale, for it is announced for 
this evening." 

So they all went out into the wood where the Nightingale 
was accustomed to sing; half the court went forth. When 
they were in the midst of their journey a cow began to low. 

"O !" cried the court page, "now we have it ! That shows 
a wonderful power in so small a creature ! I have certainly 
heard it before." 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 323 

"No, those are cows lowing !" said the little Kitchen Girl. 
"We are a long way from the place yet !" 

Now the frogs began to croak in the marsh. 

"Glorious!" said the Chinese Court Preacher. "Now I 
hear it — it sounds just like little church bells." 

"No, those are frogs 1" said the little Kitchen-maid. "But 
now I think we shall soon hear it." 

And then the Nightingale began to sing. 

"That is it !" exclaimed the little Girl. "Listen, listen ! and 
yonder it sits." 

And she pointed to a little gray bird up in the boughs. 

"Is it possible?" cried the Cavalier. "I should never have 
thought it looked like that! How simple it looks! It must 
certainly have lost its color at seeing such grand people 
around." 

"Little Nightingale!" called the Kitchen-maid, quite 
loudly, "our gracious Emperor wishes you to sing before 
him." 

"With the greatest pleasure !" replied the Nightingale, and 
began to sing most delightfully. 

"It sounds just like glass bells !" said the Cavalier. "And 
look at its little throat, how it's working ! It's wonderful that 
we should never have heard it before. That bird will be a 
great success at court." 

"Shall I sing once more before the Emperor?" asked the 
Nightingale, for it thought the Emperor was present. 

"My excellent little Nightingale," said the Cavalier, "I 
have great pleasure in inviting you to a court festival this 
evening, when you shall charm his Imperial Majesty with 
your beautiful singing." 

"My song sounds best in the greenwood!" replied the 
Nightingale; still it came willingly when it heard what the 
Emperor wished. 

The palace was festively adorned. The walls and the floor- 
ing, which were of porcelain, gleamed in the rays of thou- 
sands of golden lamps. The most glorious flowers, which 
could ring clearly, had been placed in the passages. There 
was a running to and fro, and a thorough draught, and all 
the bells rang so loudly that one could not hear one's self 
speak. 



324 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

In the midst of the great hall, where the Emperor sat, a 
golden perch had been placed, on which the Nightingale was 
to sit. The whole court was there, and the little Cook-maid 
had got leave to stand behind the door, as she had now re- 
ceived the title of a real court cook. All were in full dress, 
and all looked at the little gray bird, to which the Emperor 
nodded. 

And the Nightingale sang so gloriously that the tears came 
into the Emperor's eyes, and the tears ran down over his 
cheeks; and then the Nightingale sang still more sweetly, 
that went straight to the heart. The Emperor was so much 
pleased that he said the Nightingale should have his golden 
slipper to wear round its neck. But the Nightingale declined 
this with thanks, saying it had already received a sufficient 
reward. 

"I have seen tears in the Emperor's eyes — that is the real 
treasure to me. An emperor's tears have a peculiar power. 
I am rewarded enough!" And then it sang again with a 
sweet, glorious voice. 

"That's the most amiable coquetry I ever saw!" said the 
ladies who stood round about, and then they took water m 
their mouths to gurgle when any one spoke to them. They 
thought they should be nightingales too. And the lackeys 
and chambermaids reported that they were satisfied too; 
and that was saying a good deal, for they are the most diffi- 
cult to please. In short, the Nightingale achieved a real 
success. 

It was now to remain at court, to have its own cage, with 
liberty to go out twice every day and once at night. Twelve 
servants were appointed when the Nightingale went out, each 
of whom had a silken string fastened to the bird's leg, which 
they held very tight. There was really no pleasure in an 
excursion of that kind. 

The whole city spoke of the wonderful bird, and when two 
people met, one said nothing but **Nightin," and the other 
said "gale;" and then they sighed, and understood one 
another. Eleven peddlers' children were named after the 
bird, but not one of them could sing a note. 

One day the Emperor received a large parcel, on which 
was written "The Nightingale." 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 325 

"There we have a new book about this celebrated bird," 
said the Emperor. 

But it was not a book, but a little work of art, contained in 
a box, an artificial nightingale, which was to sing like a 
natural one, and was brilliantly ornamented with diamonds, 
rubies, and sapphires. So soon as the artificial bird was 
wound up, he could sing one of the pieces that he really sang, 
and then his tail moved up and down, and shone with silver 
and gold. Round his neck hung a little ribbon, and on that 
was written, "The Emperor of China's Nightingale is poor 
compared to that of the Emperor of Japan." 

"That is capital!" said they all, and he who had brought 
the artificial bird immediately received the title, Imperial 
Head-Nightingale-Bringer. 

"Now they must sing together; what a duet that will be!" 

And so they had to sing together ; but it did not sound very 
well, for the real Nightingale sang in its own way, and the 
artificial bird sang waltzes. 

"That's not his fault," said the Play-master; "he's quite 
perfect, and very much in my style." 

Now the artificial bird was to sing alone. He had just as 
much success as the real one, and then it was much hand- 
somer to look at — it shone like bracelets and breastpins. 

Three-and-thirty times over did it sing the same piece, and 
yet was not tired. The people would gladly have heard it 
again, but the Emperor said that the living Nightingale ought 
to sing something now. But where was it? No one had 
noticed that it had flown away out of the open window, back 
to the greenwood. 

"But what is become of that?" said the Emperor. 

And all the courtiers abused the Nightingale, and declared 
that it was a very ungrateful creature. 

"We have the best bird, after all," said they. 

And so the artificial bird had to sing again, and that was 
the thirty-fourth time that they listened to the same piece. 
For all that they did not know it quite by heart, for it was so 
very difficult. And the Play-master praised the bird particu- 
larly; yes, he declared that it was better than a nightingale, 
not only with regard to its plumage and the many beautiful 
diamonds, but inside as well. 

HC XVII— u 



326 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

"For you see, ladies and gentlemen, and above all, your 
Imperial Majesty, with a real nightingale one can never cal- 
culate what is coming, but in this artificial bird everything is 
settled. One can explain it; one can open it, and make peo- 
ple understand where the waltzes come from, how they go, 
and how one follows up another." 

"Those are quite our own ideas," they all said. 

And the speaker received permission to show the bird to 
the people on the next Sunday. The people were to hear it 
sing too, the Emperor commanded ; and they did hear it, and 
were as much pleased as if they had all got tipsy upon tea, 
for that's quite the Chinese fashion ; and they all said, "O !" 
and held up their forefingers and nodded. But the poor Fish- 
erman, who had heard the real Nightingale, said, — 

"It sou;ids pretty enough, and the melodies resemble each 
other, but there's something wanting, though I know not 
what!" 

The real Nightingale was banished from the country and 
empire. The artificial bird had its place on a silken cushion 
close to the Emperor's bed; all the presents it had received, 
gold and precious stones, were ranged about it ; in title it had 
advanced to be the High Imperial After-Dinner-Singer, and 
in rank, to number one on the left hand; for the Emperor 
considered that side the most important in which the heart is 
placed, and even in an emperor the heart is on the left side; 
and the Play-master wrote a work of five-and-twenty volumes 
about the artificial bird; it was very learned and very long, 
full of the most difficult Chinese words; but yet all the 
people declared that they had read it, and understood it, for 
fear of being considered stupid, and having their bodies 
trampled on. 

So a whole year went by. The Emperor, the court, and all 
the other Chinese knew every little twitter in the artificial 
bird's song by heart. But just for that reason it pleased them 
best — they could sing with it themselves, and they did so. 
The street boys sang, "Tsi-tsi-tsi-glug-glug !" and the Em- 
peror himself sang it too. Yes, that was certainly famous. 

But one evening, when the artificial bird was singing its 
best, and the Emperor lay in bed listening to it, something 
inside the bird said, "Whizz!" Something cracked. 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 327 

"Whir-r-r !" All the wheels ran round, and then the music 
stopped. 

The Emperor immediately sprang out of bed, and caused 
his body physician to be called ; but what could he do ? Then 
they sent for a watchmaker, and after a good deal of talking 
and investigation, the bird was put into something like order ; 
but the Watchmaker said that the bird must be carefully 
treated, for the barrels were worn, and it would be impossible 
to put new ones in in such a manner that the music would go. 
There was great lamentation; only once in a year was it 
permitted to let the bird sing, and that was almost too much. 
But then the Play-master made a little speech, full of heavy 
words, and said this was just as good as before — and so of 
course it was as good as before. 

Now five years had gone by, and a real grief came upon the 
whole nation. The Chinese were really fond of their Em- 
peror, and now he was ill, and could not, it was said, live 
much longer. Already a new Emperor had been chosen, and 
the people stood out in the street and asked the Cavalier how 
their old Emperor did. 

"P !" said he, and shook his head. 

Cold and pale lay the Emperor in his great gorgeous bed; 
the whole court thought him dead, and each one ran to pay 
homage to the new ruler. The chamberlains ran out to talk it 
over, and the ladies'-maids had a great coffee party. All about, 
in all the halls and passages, cloth had been laid down so that 
no footstep could be heard, and therefore it was quiet there, 
quite quiet. But the Emperor was not dead yet : stiff and pale 
he lay on the gorgeous bed with the long velvet curtains and 
the heavy gold tassels; high up, a window stood open, and 
the moon shone in upon the Emperor and the artificial bird. 

The poor Emperor could scarcely breathe; it was just as if 
something lay upon his chest : he opened his eyes, and then he 
saw that it was Death who sat upon his chest, and had put on 
his golden crown, and held in one hand the Emperor's sword 
and in the other his beautiful banner. And all around, from 
among the folds of the splendid velvet curtains, strange heads 
peered forth ; a few very ugly, the rest quite lovely and mild. 
These were all the Emperor's bad and good deeds, that stood 
before him now that Death sat upon his heart. 



328 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

"Do you remember this?" whispered one to the other. "Do 
you remember that ?" and then they told him so much that the 
perspiration ran from his forehead. 

"I did not know that !" said the Emperor. "Music ! music ! 
the great Chinese drum !" he cried, "so that I need not hear 
all they say !" And they continued speaking, and Death 
nodded like a Chinaman to all they said. 

"Music ! music !" cried the Emperor. "You little precious 
golden bird, sing, sing! I have given you gold and costly 
presents; I have even hung my golden slipper around your 
neck — sing now, sing!" 

But the bird stood still; no one was there to wind him up, 
and he could not sing without that; but Death continued to 
stare at the Emperor with his great hollow eyes, and it was 
quiet, fearfully quiet. 

Then there sounded from the window, suddenly, the most 
lovely song. It was the little live Nightingale, that sat out- 
side on a spray. It had heard of the Emperor's sad plight, 
and had come to sing to him of comfort and hope. And as it 
sang the spectres grew paler and paler ; the blood ran quicker 
and more quickly through the Emperor's weak limbs; and 
even Death listened, and said, — 

"Go on, little Nightingale, go on !" 

"But will you give me that splendid golden sword? Will 
you give me that rich banner? Will you give me the Em- 
peror's crown?" 

And Death gave up each of these treasures for a song. And 
the Nightingale sang on and on; and it sang of the quiet 
church-yard, where the white roses grow, where the elder- 
blossom smells sweet, and where the fresh grass is moistened 
by the tears of survivors. Then Death felt a longing to see 
his garden, and floated out at the window in the form of a 
cold, white mist. 

"Thanks! thanks!" said the Emperor. "You heavenly 
little bird ! I know you well. I banished you from my coun- 
try and empire, and yet you have charmed away the evil faces 
from my couch, and banished Death from my heart ! How 
can I reward you ?" 

"You have rewarded me !" replied the Nightingale. "I 
have drawn tears from your eyes, when I sang the first time — 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 329 

I shall never forget that. Those are the jewels that rejoice a 
singer's heart. But now sleep and grow fresh and strong 
again. I will sing you something." 

And it sang, and the Emperor fell into a sweet slumber. 
Ah ! how mild and refreshing that sleep was ! The sun shone 
upon him through the windows, when he awoke refreshed and 
restored; not one of his servants had yet returned, for they 
all thought he was dead ; only the Nightingale still sat beside 
him and sang. 

"You must always stay with me," said the Emperor. "You 
shall sing as you please ; and I'll break the artificial bird into 
a thousand pieces." 

"Not so," replied the Nightingale. "It did well as long as 
it could ; keep it as you have done till now. I cannot build my 
nest in the palace to dwell in; but let me come when I feel 
the wish; then I will sit in the evening on the spray yonder 
by the window, and sing you something, so that you may be 
glad and thoughtful at once. I will sing of those who are 
happy and of those who suffer. I will sing of good and of 
evil that remain hidden round about you. The little singing 
bird flies far around, to the poor fisherman, to the peasant's 
roof, to every one who dwells far away from you and from 
your court. I love your heart more than your crown, and yet 
the crown has an air of sanctity about it. I will come and 
sing to you — but one thing you must promise me." 

"Everything !" said the Emperor ; and he stood there in his 
imperial robes, which he had put on himself, and pressed the 
sword which was heavy with gold to his heart. 

"One thing I beg of you : tell no one that you have a little 
bird who tells you everything. Then it will go all the better." 

And the Nightingale flew away. 

The servants came in to look to their dead Emperor, and— 
yes, there he stood, and the Emperor said "Good morning !" 



THE STORKS 

On the last house in a little village stood a stork's nest. 
The Mother Stork sat in it with her four young ones, who 
stretched out their heads with the pointed black beaks, for 



330 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

their beaks had not yet turned red. A little way off stood the 
Father Stork, all alone on the ridge of the roof, quite upright 
and stiff; he had drawn up one of his legs, so as not to be 
quite idle while he stood sentry. One would have thought 
he had been carved out of wood, so still did he stand. He 
thought, " It must look very grand, that my wife has a sentry 
standing by her nest. They can't tell that it is her husband. 
They certainly think I have been commanded to stand here. 
That looks so aristocratic ! " And he went on standing on 
one leg. 

Below in the street a whole crowd of children were play- 
ing; and when they caught sight of the Storks, one of the 
boldest of the boys, and afterwards all of them, sang the 
old verse about the Storks. But they only sang it just as he 
could remember it: — 

" Stork, stork, long-legged stork; 
Off to thy home I prithee walk. 
Thy dear wife is in the nest, 
Where she rocks her young to rest. 

"The first he will be hanged, 
The second will be hit, 
The third he will be shot, 

And the fourth put on the spit." 

" Just hear what those boys are saying ! " said the little 
Stork children. " They say we're to be hanged and killed." 

" You're not to care for that ! " said the Mother Stork. 
" Don't listen to it, and then it won't matter." 

But the boys went on singing, and pointed at the Storks 
mockingly with their fingers ; only one boy, whose name was 
Peter, declared that it was a sin to make a jest of animals, 
and he would not join in it at all. 

The Mother Stork comforted her children. " Don't you 
mind it at all," she said ; " see how quiet your father stands, 
though it's only on one leg." 

" We are very much afraid," said the young Storks ; and 
they drew their heads far back into the nest. 

Now to-day, when the children came out again to play, and 
saw the Storks, they sang their song, — 

" The first he will be hanged, 
The second will be hit." 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 331 

" Shall we be hanged and beaten ? " asked the young 
Storks. 

" No, certainly not," replied the mother. " You shall learn 
to fly; I'll exercise you; then we shall fly into the mead- 
ows and pay a visit to the frogs ; they will bow before us in 
the water, and sing * Co-ax ! co-ax ! ' and then we shall eat 
them up. That will be a real pleasure." 

" And what then ? " asked the young Storks. 

" Then all the Storks will assemble, all that are here in 
the whole country, and the autumn exercises begin: then 
one must fly well, for that is highly important, for whoever 
cannot fly properly will be thrust dead by the general's beak ; 
so take care and learn well when the exercising begins." 

" But then we shall be killed, as the boys say — and only 
listen, now they're singing again." 

" Listen to me, and not to them," said the Mother Stork. 
"After the great review we shall fly away to the warm coun- 
tries, far away from here, over mountains and forests. We 
shall fly to Egypt, where there are three covered houses of 
stone, which curl in a point and tower above the clouds ; they 
are called pyramids, and are older than a stork can imagine. 
There is a river in that country which runs out of its bed, 
and then all the land is turned to mud. One walks about in 
the mud, and eats frogs." 

" O ! " cried all the young ones. 

" Yes ! It is glorious there ! One does nothing all day 
long but eat; and while we are so comfortable over there, 
here there is not a green leaf on the trees ; here it is so cold 
that the clouds freeze to pieces, and fall down in little white 
rags ! " 

It was the snow that she meant, but she could not explain 
it in any other way. 

"And do the naughty boys freeze to pieces ? " asked the 
young Storks. 

" No, they don't freeze to pieces ; but they are not far 
from it, and must sit in the dark and cower. You, on 
the other hand, can fly about in foreign lands, where there 
are flowers, and the siin shines warm." 

Now some time had elapsed, and the nestlings had grown 
so large that they could stand upright in the nest and look 



332 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

far around; and the Father Stork came every day with de- 
licious frogs, little snakes, and all kinds of stork-dainties 
as he found them. O ! it looked funny when he performed 
feats before them. He laid his head quite back upon his 
tail, and clapped with his beak as if he had been a little 
clapper ; and then he told them stories, all about the marshes. 

" Listen ! now you must learn to fly," said the Mother 
Stork one day ; and all the four young ones had to go out on 
the ridge of the roof. O, how they tottered ! how they bal- 
anced themselves with their wings, and yet they were nearly 
falling down. 

" Only look at me," said the mother. " Thus you must 
hold your heads ! Thus you must pitch your feet ! One, 
two ! one, two ! That's what will help you on in the world." 

Then she flew a little way, and the young ones made a 
little clumsy leap. Bump ! — there they lay, for their bodies 
were too heavy. 

" I will not fly ! " said one of the young Storks, and crept 
back into the nest. " I don't care about getting to the warm 
countries." 

" Do you want to freeze to death here, when the winter 
comes ? Are the boys to come and hang you, and singe you, 
and roast you ? Now I'll call them." 

" O no ! " cried the young Stork, and hopped out on to the 
roof again like the rest. 

On the third day they could actually fly a little, and then 
they thought they could also soar and hover in the air. They 
tried it, but — bump! — down they tumbled, and they had to 
shoot their wings again quickly enough. Now the boys came 
into the street again and sang their song, — 

"Stork, stork, long-legged stork! '• 

" Shall we fly down and pick their eyes out ? " asked the 
young Storks. 

" No," replied the mother, " let them alone. Only listen to 
me ; that's far more important. One, two, three ! — now we fly 
round to the right. One, two, three ! — now to the left round 
the chimney ! See, that was very good ! the last kick with 
the feet was so neat and correct that you shall have permis- 
sion to-morrow to fly with me to the marsh ! Several nice 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 333 

Stork families go there with their young: show them that 
mine are the nicest, and that you can start proudly; that 
looks well, and will get you consideration." 

" But are we not to take revenge on the rude boys ? " asked 
the young Storks. 

" Let them scream as much as they like. You will fly up 
to the clouds, and get to the land of the pyramids, when they 
will have to shiver, and not have a green leaf or a sweet 
apple." 

" Yes, we will revenge ourselves ! " they whispered to one 
another; and then the exercising went on. 

Among all the boys down in the street, the one most bent 
upon singing the teasing song was he who had begun it, and 
he was quite a little boy. He could hardly be more than six 
years old, The young Storks certainly thought he was a 
hundred, for he was much bigger than their mother and 
father; and how should they know how old children and 
grown-up people can be! Their revenge was to come upon 
this boy, for it was he who had begun, and he always kept 
on. The young Storks were very angry; and as they grew 
bigger they were less inclined to bear it : at last their mother 
had to promise them that they should be revenged, but not 
till the last day of their stay. 

" We must first see how you behave at the grand review. 
If you get through badly, so that the general stabs you 
through the chest with his beak, the boys will be right, at 
least in one way. Let us see." 

" Yes, you shall see ! " cried the young Storks ; and then 
they took all imaginable pains. They practiced every day, 
and flew so neatly and so lightly that it was a pleasure to 
see them. 

Now the autumn came on ; all the Storks began to assem- 
ble, to fly away to the warm countries while it is winter here. 
That was a review. They had to fly over forests and villages, 
to show how well they could soar, for it was a long journey 
they had before them. The young Storks did their parts so 
well that they got as a mark, " Remarkably well, with frogs 
and snakes." That was the highest mark; and they might 
eat the frogs and snakes ; and that is what they did. 

" Now we will be revenged ! " they said. 



334 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

" Yes, certainly ! " said the Mother Stork. " What I have 
thought of will be the best. I know the pond in which all 
the little mortals lie till the stork comes and brings them to 
their parents. The pretty little babies lie there and dream 
so sweetly as they never dream afterwards. All parents are 
glad to have such a child, and all children want to have a 
sister or a brother. Now we will fly to the pond, and bring 
one for each of the children who have not sung the naughty 
song and laughed at the Storks." 

" But he who began to sing, — that naughty, ugly boy ! " 
screamed the young Storks ; " what shall we do with him ? " 

" There is a little dead child in the pond, one that has 
dreamed itself to death; we will bring that for him. Then 
he will cry because we have brought him a little dead 
brother. But that good boy — you have not forgotten him, 
the one who said, * It is wrong to laugh at animals ! ' — for 
him we will bring a brother and a sister too. And as his 
name is Peter, all of you shall be called Peter too." 

And it was done as she said; all the storks were named 
Peter, and so they are all called even now. 



THE DARNING-NEEDLE 

There was once a darning-needle, who thought herself 
so fine, she imagined she was an embroidering-needle. 

" Take care, and mind you hold me tight ! " she said to the 
Fingers that took her out. " Don't let me fall ! If I fall on 
the ground I shall certainly never be found again, for I am 
so fine ! " 

" That's as it may be," said the Fingers ; and they grasped 
her round the body. 

" See, I'm coming with a train ! " said the Darning-needle, 
and she drew a long thread after her, but there was no knot 
in the thread. 

The Fingers pointed the needle just at the cook's slipper, 
in which the upper leather had burst, and was to be sewn 
together. 

" That's vulgar work," said the Darning-needle. " I shall 
never get through. I'm breaking ! I'm breaking ! " And 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 335 

she really broke. "Did I not say so?" said the Darning- 
needle ; " I'm too fine ! " 

" Now it's quite useless," said the Fingers ; but they were 
obliged to hold her fast, all the same; for the cook dropped 
some sealing-wax upon the needle, and pinned her handker- 
chief together with it in front. 

" So, now I'm a breast-pin ! " said the Darning-needle. " I 
knew very well that I should come to honor: when one is 
something, one comes to something ! " 

And she laughed quietly to herself — and one can never see 
when a darning-needle laughs. There she sat, as proud as 
if she was in a state coach, and looked all about her. 

"May I be permitted to ask if you are of gold?" she in- 
quired of the pin, her neighbor. " You have a very pretty 
appearance, and a peculiar head, but it is only little. You 
must take pains to grow, for it's not every one that has seal- 
ing-wax dropped upon him." 

And the Darning-needle drew herself up so proudly that 
she fell out of the handkerchief right into the sink, which 
the cook was rinsing out. 

" Now we're going on a journey," said the Darning-needle. 
" If I only don't get lost ! " 

But she really was lost. 

" I'm too fine for this world," she observed, as she lay in 
the gutter. " But I know who I am, and there's always 
something in that ! " 

So the Darning-needle kept her proud behavior, and did 
not lose her good humor. And things of many kinds swam 
over her, chips and straws and pieces of old newspapers. 

" Only look how they sail ! " said the Darning-needle. 
" They don't know what is under them ! I'm here, I remain 
firmly here. See, there goes a chip thinking of nothing in 
the world but of himself — of a chip ! There's a straw going 
by now. How he turns ! how he twirls about ! Don't think 
only of yourself, you might easily run up against a stone. 
There swims a bit of newspaper. What's written upon it has 
long been forgotten, and yet it gives itself airs. I sit quietly 
and patiently here. I know who I am, and I shall remain 
what I am." 

One day something lay close beside her that glittered 



336 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

splendidly; then the Darning-needle believed that it was a 
diamond; but it was a bit of broken bottle; and because it 
shone, the Darning-needle spoke to it, introducing herself 
as a breast-pin. 

" I suppose you are a diamond ? " she observed. 

" Why, yes, something of that kind." 

And then each believed the other to be a very valuable 
thing; and they began speaking about the world, and how 
very conceited it was. 

" I have been in a lady's box," said the Darning-needle, 
" and this lady was a cook. She had five fingers on each 
hand, and I never saw anything so conceited as those five 
fingers. And yet they were only there that they might take 
me out of the box and put me back into it." 

" Were they of good birth ? " asked the Bit of Bottle. 

" No, indeed," replied the Darning-needle ; " but very 
haughty. There were five brothers, all of the finger family. 
They kept very proudly together, though they were of dif- 
ferent lengths: the outermost, the thumbling, was short and 
fat; he walked out in front of the ranks, and only had one 
joint in his back, and could only make a single bow; but he 
said that if he were hacked ofif a man, that man was useless 
for service in war. Daintymouth, the second finger, thrust 
himself into sweet and sour, pointed to sun and moon, and 
gave the impression when they wrote. Longman, the third 
looked at all the others over his shoulder. Gold border, the 
fourth, went about with a golden belt round his waist; and 
little Playman did nothing at all, and was proud of it. There 
was nothing but bragging among them, and therefore I 
went away." 

"And now we sit here and glitter ! " said the Bit of Bottle. 

At that moment more water came into the gutter, so that 
it overflowed, and the Bit of Bottle was carried away. 

" So he is disposed of," observed the Darning-needle. " I 
remain here, I am too fine. But that's my pride, and my 
pride is honorable." And proudly she sat there, and had 
many great thoughts. " I could almost believe I had been 
born of a sunbeam, I'm so fine ! It really appears as if the 
sunbeams were always seeking for me under the water. Ah ! 
I'm so fine that my mother cannot find me. If I had my old 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 337 

eye, which broke off, I think I should cry ; but, no, I should 
not do that : it's not genteel to cry." 

One day a couple of street boys lay grubbing in the gutter, 
where they sometimes found old nails, farthings, and similar 
treasures. It was dirty work, but they took great delight in it. 

" O ! " cried one, who had pricked himself with the Darn- 
ing-needle, " there's a fellow for you ! " 

" I'm not a fellow ; I'm a young lady ! " said the Darning- 
needle. 

But nobody listened to her. The sealing-wax had come off, 
and she had turned black ; but black makes one look slender, 
and she thought herself finer even than before. 

" Here comes an egg-shell sailing along ! " said the boys ; 
and they stuck the Darning-needle fast in the egg-shell. 

" White walls, and black myself ! that looks well," re- 
marked the Darning-needle. "Now one can see me. I only 
hope I shall not be seasick ! " But she was not seasick at 
all. "It is good against seasickness, if one has a steel 
stomach, and does not forget that one is a little more than 
an ordinary person ! Now my seasickness is over. The finer 
one is, the more one can bear." 

" Crack ! " went the egg-shell, for a wagon went over her. 

" Good heavens, how it crushes one ! " said the Darning- 
needle. " I'm getting seasick now, — I'm quite sick." 

But she was not really sick, though the wagon went over 
her; she lay there at full length, and there she may lie. 



THE SHADOW 

It is in the hot lands that the sun burns, sure enough! 
there the people become quite mahogany brown, aye, and 
in the hottest lands they are burnt to negroes. But now it 
was only to the hot lands that a learned man had come from 
the cold; there he thought that he could run about just as 
when at home, but he soon found out his mistake. 

He, and all sensible folks, were obliged to stay within 
doors ; the window-shutters and doors were closed the whole 
day; it looked as if the whole house slept, or there was no 
one at home. 



338 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

The narrow street, with the high houses, was built so that 
the sunshine must fall there from morning till evening, — it 
was really not to be borne. 

The learned man from the cold lands — he was a young 
man, and seemed to be a clever man — sat in a glowing 
oven; it took effect on him, he became quite meagre — even 
his shadow shrunk in, for the sun had also an effect on it. 
It was first toward evening, when the sun was down, that 
they began to freshen up again. 

In the warm lands every window has a balcony, and the 
people came out on all the balconies in the street — for one 
must have air, even if one be accustomed to be mahogany! 
It was lively both up and down the street. Tailors, and 
shoemakers, and all the folks, moved out into the street; 
chairs and tables were brought forth; and candles burnt — 
yes, above a thousand lights were burning; and the one 
talked and the other sung, and people walked and church- 
bells rang, and asses went along with a dingle-dingle-dong ! 
for they too had bells on. The street boys were scream- 
ing and hooting, and shouting and shooting, with devils and 
detonating balls: and there came corpse bearers and hood 
wearers, — for there were funerals with psalm and hymn; 
and then the din of carriages, driving and company arriving, 
— yes, it was, in truth, lively enough down in the street. 
Only in that single house, which stood opposite that in which 
the learned foreigner lived, it was quite still; and yet some 
one lived there, for there stood flowers in the balcony — they 
grew so well in the sun's heat! — and that they could not 
do unless they were watered; and some one must water 
them — there must be somebody there. The door opposite 
was also opened late in the evening, but it was dark within, 
at least in the front room; further in there was heard the 
sound of music. The learned foreigner thought it quite mar- 
velous, but now — it might be that he only imagined it, for 
he found everything marvelous out there in the warm lands, 
if there had only been no sun. The stranger's landlord said 
that he didn't know who had taken the house opposite, one 
saw no person about, and as to the music, it appeared to 
him to be extremely tiresome. " It is as if some one sat 
there and practiced a piece that he could not master — al- 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 339 

ways the same piece. * I shall master it ! ' says he ; but yet 
he cannot master it, however long he plays." 

One night the stranger awoke — he slept with the doors 
of the balcony open — the curtain before it was raised by the 
wind, and he thought that a strange lustre came from the 
opposite neighbor's house; all the flowers shone like flames, 
in the most beautiful colors, and in the midst of the flowers 
stood a slender, graceful maiden, — it was as if she also 
shone; the light really hurt his eyes. He now opened them 
quite wide — yes, he was quite awake; with one spring he 
was on the floor; he crept gently behind the curtain, but the 
maiden was gone ; the flowers shone no longer, but there they 
stood, fresh and blooming as ever: the door was ajar, and, 
far within, the music sounded so soft and delightful, one 
could really melt away in sweet thoughts from it. Yet it 
was like a piece of enchantment. And who lived there? 
Where was the actual entrance? The whole of the ground- 
floor was a row of shops, and there people could not always 
be running through. 

One evening, the stranger sat out on the balcony. The 
light burnt in the room behind him; and thus it was quite 
natural that his shadow should fall on his opposite neigh- 
bor's wall. Yes, there it sat, directly opposite, between the 
flowers on the balcony; and when the stranger moved, the 
shadow also moved: for that it always does. 

" I think my shadow is the only living thing one sees over 
there," said the Learned Man. " See ! how nicely it sits 
between the flowers. The door stands half-open: now the 
shadow should be cunning, and go into the room, look about, 
and then come and tell me what it had seen. Come, now ! 
be useful, and do me a service," said he, in jest. " Have the 
kindness to step in. Now ! art thou going ? " and then he 
nodded to the Shadow, and the Shadow nodded again. 
" Well, then, go ! but don't stay away." 

The stranger rose, and his Shadow on their opposite neigh- 
bor's balcony rose also; the stranger turned round, and the 
Shadow also turned round. Yes ! if any one had paid par- 
ticular attention to it, they would have seen, quite distinctly, 
that the Shadow went in through the half-open balcony- 
door of their opposite neighbor, just as the stranger went 



340 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

into his own room, and let the long curtain fall down after 
him. 

Next morning, the Learned Man went out to drink coffee 
and read the newspapers. 

" What is that ? " said he, as he came out into the sun- 
shine. " I have no shadow ! So, then, it has actually gone 
last night, and not come again. It is really tiresome ! " 

This annoyed him: not so much because the shadow was 
gone, but because he knew there was a story about a man 
without a shadow. It was known to everybody at home, in 
the cold lands ; and if the Learned Man now came there and 
told his story, they would say that he was imitating it, and 
that he had no need to do. He would, therefore, not talk 
about it at all; and that was wisely thought. 

In the evening, he went out again on the balcony. He had 
placed the light directly behind him, for he knew that the 
shadow would always have its master for a screen, but he 
could not entice it. He made himself little; he made him- 
self great; but no shadow came again. He said, "Hem! 
hem ! " but it was of no use. 

It was vexatious ; but in the warm lands everything grows 
so quickly; and after the lapse of eight days he observed, to 
his great joy, that a new shadow came in the sunshine. In 
the course of three weeks he had a very fair shadow, which, 
when he set out for his home in the northern lands, grew 
more and more in the journey, so that at last it was so long 
and so large that it was more than sufficient. 

The Learned Man then came home, and he wrote books 
about what was true in the world, and about what was good, 
and what was beautiful ; and there passed days and years, — 
yes ! many years passed away. 

One evening, as he was sitting in his room, there was a 
gentle knocking at the door. 

" Come in ! " said he ; but no one came in ; so he opened 
the door, and there stood before him such an extremely lean 
man, that he felt quite strange. As to the rest, the man was 
very finely dressed, — he must be a gentleman. 

"Whom have I the honor of speaking to?" asked the 
Learned Man. 

" Yes ! I thought as much," said the fine man. " I thought 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 341 

you would not know me. I have got so much body. I have 
even got flesh and clothes. You certainly never thought of 
seeing me so well off. Do you not know your old Shadow? 
You certainly thought I should never more return. Things 
have gone on well with me since I was last with you. I have, 
in all respects, become very well off. Shall I purchase my 
freedom from service? If so, I can do it; " and then he rat- 
tled a whole bunch of valuable seals that hung to his watch, 
and he stuck his hand in the thick gold chain he wore around 
his neck; — ^nay! how all his fingers glittered with diamond 
rings; and then all were pure gems. 

" Nay, I cannot recover from my surprise ! " said the 
Learned Man: "what is the meaning of all this?" 

" Something common it is not," said the Shadow : " but you 
yourself do not belong to the common order; and I, as you 
know well, have from a child followed in your footsteps. As 
soon as you found I was capable to go out alone in the world, 
I went my own way. I am in the most brilliant circum- 
stances, but there came a sort of desire over me to see you 
once more before you die; — ^you will die, I suppose? I also 
wished to see this land again, — for you know we always love 
our native land. I know you have got another Shadow 
again; have I anything to pay to it or you? If so, you will 
oblige me by saying what it is." 

"Nay, is it really thou?" said the Learned Man: "it is 
most remarkable. I never imagined that one's old shadow 
could come again as a man." 

" Tell me what I have to pay," said the Shadow ; " for I 
don't like to be in any sort of debt." 

" How canst thou talk so ? " said the Learned Man ; " what 
debt is there to talk about? Make thyself as free as any one 
else. I am extremely glad to hear of thy good fortune: sit 
down, old friend, and tell me a little how it has gone with 
thee, and what thou hast seen at our opposite neighbor's 
there — in the warm lands." 

" Yes, I will tell you all about it," said the Shadow, and sat 
down : " but then you must also promise me, that, wherever 
you may meet me, you will never say to any one here in the 
town that I have been your shadow. I intend to get be- 
trothed, for I can provide for more than one family." 

HC XVII— V 



342 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

"Be quite at thy ease about that,'* said the Learned 
Man; "I shall not say to any one who thou actually art; 
there is my hand — I promise it, and a man's bond is his 
word." 

" A word is a shadow," said the Shadow, " and as such it 
must speak." 

It was really quite astonishing how much of a man it was. 
It was dressed entirely in black, and of the very finest cloth ; 
it had patent leather boots, and a hat that could be folded 
together, so that it was bare crown and brim; not to speak 
of what we already know it had — seals, gold neck-chain, and 
diamond rings ; yes, the Shadow was well-dressed, and it was 
just that which made it quite a man. 

" Now I shall tell you my adventures," said the Shadow ; 
and then he sat, with the polished boots on, as heavily as he 
could on the arm of the Learned Man's new shadow, which 
lay like a poodle-dog at his feet. Now this was perhaps 
from arrogance ; and the shadow on the ground kept itself so 
still and quiet, that it might hear all that passed: it wished 
to know how it could get free, and work its way up, so as 
to become its own master. 

" Do you know who lived in our opposite neighbor's 
house?" said the Shadow; "it was the most charming of 
all beings, it was Poetry ! I was there for three weeks, and 
that has as much effect as if one had lived three thousand 
years, and read all that was composed and written; that is 
what I say, and it is right. I have seen everything, and I 
know everything ! " 

" Poetry ! " cried the Learned Man ; " yes, yes, she is often 
an anchoret in the large towns ! Poetry ! yes, I have seen 
her, — a single, short moment, but sleep came into my eyes! 
She stood on the balcony and shone as the aurora borealis 
shines. Go on, go on ! — thou wert on the balcony, and went 
through the door-way, and then — " 

" Then I was in the antechamber," said the Shadow. " You 
always sat and looked over to the antechamber. There was 
no light ; there was a sort of twilight, but the one door stood 
open directly opposite the other through a long row of rooms 
and saloons, and there it was lighted up. I should have been 
completely killed if I had gone over to the maiden, but I 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 343 

was circumspect, I took time to think, and that one must 
always do." 

"And what didst thou then see?" asked the Learned 
Man. 

" I saw everything, and I shall tell all to you ; but, — it is 
no pride on my part, — as a free man, and with the knowl- 
edge I have, not to speak of my position in life, my excel- 
lent circumstances, — I certainly wish that you would say you 
to me ! " 

"I beg your pardon," said the Learned Man; "it is an 
old habit with me. You are perfectly right, and I shall 
remember it ; but now you must tell me all that you saw ! " 

"Everything !" said the Shadow, "for I saw everything, and 
I know everything !" 

"How did it look in the furthest saloon ?" asked the Learned 
Man. "Was it there as in the fresh woods ? Was it there as 
in a holy church ? Were the saloons like the starlit firmament 
when we stand on the high mountains?" 

"Everything was there !" said the Shadow. "I did not go 
quite in; I remained in the foremost room, in the twilight, 
but I stood there quite well; I saw everything, and I know 
everything ! I have been in the antechamber at the court of 
Poetry." 

"But what did you see? Did all the gods of the olden times 
pass through the large saloons? Did the old heroes combat 
there? Did sweet children play there, and relate their 
dreams ?" 

"I tell you I was there, and you can conceive that I saw 
everything there was to be seen. Had you come over there, 
you would not have been a man ; but I became so ! And be- 
sides, I learned to know my inward nature, my innate quali- 
ties, the relationship I had with Poetry. At the time I was 
with you, I thought not of that, but always — you know it well 
— when the sun rose, and when the sun went down, I became 
so strangely great; in the moonlight I was very near being 
more distinct than yourself ; at that time I did not understand 
my nature ; it was revealed to me in the antechamber ! I 
became a man ! I came out matured ; but you were no longer 
in the warm lands : as a man I was ashamed to go as I did. 
I was in want of boots, of clothes, of the whole human var- 



344 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

nish that makes a man perceptible. I took my way — I tell it 
to you, but you will not put it in any book — I took my way to 
the cake woman — I hid myself behind her ; the woman didn't 
think how much she concealed. I went out first in the even- 
ing ; I ran about the streets in the moonlight ; I made myself 
long up the walls — it tickles the back so delightfully 1 I ran 
up, and I ran down, peeped into the highest windows, into the 
saloons, and on the roofs. I peeped in where no one could 
peep, and I saw what no one else saw, what no one should 
see ! This is, in fact, a base world ! I would not be a man if 
it were not now once accepted and regarded as something to 
be so ! I saw the most unimaginable things with the women, 
with the men, with parents, and with the sweet, matchless 
children; I saw," said the Shadow, "what no human being 
must know, but what they would all so willingly know — what 
is bad in their neighbor. Had I written a newspaper, it 
would have been read ! but I wrote direct to the persons them- 
selves, and there was consternation in all the towns where I 
came. They were so afraid of me, and yet they were so ex- 
cessively fond of me. The professors made a professor of 
me; the tailors gave me new clothes — I am well furnished; 
the master of the mint struck new coin for me, and the women 
said I was so handsome ! and so I became the man I am. And 
I now bid you farewell; — here is my card — I live on the 
sunny side of the street, and am always at home in rainy 
weather !" And so away went the Shadow. 

"That was most extraordinary !" said the Learned Man. 

Years and days passed away, then the Shadow came again. 

"How goes it?" said the Shadow. 

"Alas !" said the Learned Man, "I write about the true, and 
the good, and the beautiful, but no one cares to hear such 
things ! I am quite desperate, for I take it so much to heart !" 

"But I don't !" said the Shadow ; "I become fat, and it is 
that one wants to become ! You do not understand the world. 
You will become ill by it. You must travel ! I shall make a 
tour this summer ; will you go with me ? I should like to have 
a travelling companion ! will you go with me, as shadow ? It 
will be a great pleasure for me to have you with me, — I shall 
pay the travelling expenses !" 

"Nay, this is too much !" said the Learned Man. 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 345 

"It is just as one takes it," said the Shadow. "It will do 
you much good to travel ! — will you be my shadow ? — you 
shall have everything free on the journey !" 

"Nay, that is too bad !" said the Learned Man. 

"But it is just so with the world!" said the Shadow, "and 
so it will be !" and away it went again. 

The Learned Man was not at all in the most enviable state ; 
grief and torment followed him, and what he said about the 
true, and the good, and the beautiful was, to most persons, 
like roses for a cow ! — he was quite ill at last. 

"You really look like a shadow !" said his friends to him ; 
and the Learned Man trembled, for he thought of it. 

"You must go to a watering-place !" said the Shadow, who 
came and visited him ; "there is nothing else for it ! I will take 
you with me for old acquaintance sake; I will pay the travel- 
ling expenses, and you write the descriptions — and you may 
make them amusing if you please. I will go to a watering- 
place, — my beard does not grow out as it ought — that is also 
a sickness, and one must have a beard. Now you be wise and 
accept the offer; we shall travel as comrades!" 

And so they travelled; the Shadow was master, and the 
master was the Shadow; they drove with each other, they 
rode and walked together, side by side, before and behind, 
just as the sun was; the Shadow always took care to keep 
itself in the master's place. Now the Learned Man didn't 
think much about that ; he was a very kind-hearted man, and 
particularly mild and friendly, and so he said one day to the 
Shadow: "As we have now become companions, and in this 
way have grown up together from childhood, shall we not 
drink 'thou' together ? it is more familiar." 

"You are right !" said the Shadow, who was now the proper 
master. "It is saijd in a very straightforward and well-meant 
manner. You, as a learned man, certainly know how strange 
nature is. Some persons cannot bear to touch gray paper, or 
they become ill ; others shiver in every limb if one rub a pane 
of glass with a nail : I have just such a feeling on hearing you 
say thou to me; I feel myself as if pressed to the earth in my 
first situation with you. You see that it is a feeling ; that it is 
not pride. I cannot allow you to say thou to me, but I will 
willingly say thou to you, so it is half done !" 



346 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

So the Shadow said thou to its former master. 

"This is rather too bad," thought he, "that I must say you 
and he say thou" but he was now obHged to put up with it. 

So they came to a watering-place where there were many 
strangers, and amongst them was a princess who was troubled 
with seeing too well ; and that was so alarming ! 

She directly observed that the stranger who had just come 
was quite a different sort of person to all the others: "He 
has come here in order to get his beard to grow, they say ; but 
I see the real cause, he cannot cast a shadow." 

She had become inquisitive; and so she entered into con- 
versation directly with the strange gentleman, on their prom- 
enades. As the daughter of a king, she needed not to stand 
upon trifles, so she said, "Your complaint is, that you cannot 
cast a shadow?" 

"Your royal highness must be improving considerably," 
said the Shadow. "I know your complaint is, that you see 
too clearly; but it has decreased, you are cured. I just hap- 
pen to have a very unusual shadow! Do you not see that 
person who always goes with me? Other persons have a 
common shadow, but I do not like what is common to all. 
We give our servants finer cloth for their livery than we our- 
selves use, and so I had my shadow trimmed up into a man: 
yes, you see I have even given him a shadow. It is somewhat 
expensive, but I like to have something for myself !" 

"What!" thought the Princess, "should I really be cured! 
These baths are the first in the world! In our time water 
has wonderful powers. But I shall not leave the place, for it 
now begins to be amusing here. I am extremely fond of that 
stranger. Would that his beard should not grow, for in that 
case he will leave us." 

In the evening the Princess and the Shadow danced to- 
gether in the large ball-room. She was light, but he was still 
lighter ; she had never had such a partner in the dance. She 
told him from what land she came, and he knew that land; 
he had been there, but then she was not at home; he had 
peeped in at the window above and below — he had seen both 
the one and the other, so he could answer the Princess, and 
make insinuations, so that she was quite astonished ; he must 
be the wisest man in the whole world ! she felt such respect 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 347 

for what he knew ! So that when they again danced together 
she fell in love with him ; and that the Shadow could remark, 
for she almost pierced him through with her eyes. So they 
danced once more together; and she was about to declare 
herself, but she was discreet ; she thought of her country and 
kingdom, and of the many persons she would have to reign 
over. 

"He is a wise man," said she to herself — '"it is well; and 
he dances delightfully — that is also good; but has he solid 
knowledge? — that is just as important! — he must be ex- 
amined." 

So she began, by degrees, to question him about the most 
difficult things she could think of, and which she herself could 
not have answered ; so that the Shadow made a strange face. 

"You cannot answer these questions?" said the Princess. 

*They belong to my childhood's learning," said the Shadow. 
"I really believe my shadow, by the door there, can answer 
them !" 

"Your shadow !" said the Princess ; **that would indeed be 
marvelous !" 

"I will not say for a certainty that he can," said the 
Shadow, *lDut I think so ; he has now followed me for so many 
years, and listened to my conversation — I should think it 
possible. But your royal highness will permit me to observe, 
that he is so proud of passing himself off for a man, that 
when he is to be in a proper humor — and he must be so to 
answer well — he must be treated quite like a man." 

"O ! I like that !" said the Princess. 

So she went to the Learned Man by the door, and she spoke 
with him about the sun and the moon, and about persons out 
of and in the world, and he answered with wisdom and 
prudence. 

"What a man that must be who has so wise a shadow!" 
thought she; "it will be a real blessing for my people and 
kingdom if I choose him for my consort — I will do it !" 

They were soon agreed, both the Princess and the Shadow ; 
but no one was to know about it before she arrived in her own 
kingdom. 

"No one — ^not even my shadow !" said the Shadow ; and he 
had his own thoughts about it I 



348 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

Now they were in the country where the Princess lived 
when she was at home. 

"Listen, my good friend !" said the Shadow to the Learned 
Man. "I have now become as happy and mighty as any one 
can be; I will, therefore, do something particular for thee! 
Thou shalt always live with me in the palace, drive with me in 
my royal carriage, and have ten thousand pounds a year ; but 
then thou must submit to be called shadow by all and every 
one; thou must not say that thou hast ever been a man; and 
once a year, when I sit on the balcony in the sunshine, thou 
must lie at my feet, as a shadow shall do ! I must tell thee : 
I am going to marry the king's daughter, and the nuptials are 
to take place this evening !" 

"Nay, this is going too far !" said the Learned Man ; "I will 
not have it; I will not do it. It is to deceive the whole com- 
try and the Princess too ! I will tell everything ! — that I am a 
man and that thou art a shadow — thou art only dressed up !" 

"There is no one who will believe it!" said the Shadow; 
"be reasonable, or I will call the guard I" 

"I will go directly to the Princess!" said the Learned 
Man. 

"But I will go first !" said the Shadow, "and thou wilt go to 
prison !" and that he was obliged to do — for the sentinels 
obeyed him whom they knew the king's daughter was to 
marry. 

"You tremble !" said the Princess, as the Shadow came into 
her chamber; "has anything happened? You must not be 
unwell this evening, now that we are to have our nuptials 
celebrated." 

"I have lived to see the most cruel thing that any one can 
live to see!" said the Shadow. "Only imagine — ^yes, it is 
true, such a poor shadow-skull cannot bear much — only think, 
my shadow has become mad : he thinks that he is a man, and 
that I — now only think — that I am his shadow!" 

"It is terrible!" said the Princess; "but he is confined, is 
he not?" 

"That he is. I am afraid that he will never recover." 

"Poor shadow !" said the Princess, "he is very unfortunate; 
it would be a real work of charity to deliver him from the 
little life he has, and when I think properly over the matter, I 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 349 

am of opinion that it will be necessary to do away with him 
in all stillness !" 

"It is certainly hard!" said the Shadow, "for he was a 
faithful servant !" and then he gave a sort of sigh. 

"You are a noble character !" said the Princess. 

The whole city was illuminated in the evening, and the 
cannons went off with a bum! bum! and the soldiers pre- 
sented arms. That was a marriage! The Princess and the 
Shadow went out on the balcony to show themselves, and get 
another hurrah ! 

The Learned Man heard nothing of all this — for they had 
deprived him of life. 

THE RED SHOES 

There was once a little girl, — a very nice, pretty little 
girl. But in summer she had to go barefoot, because she was 
poor, and in winter she wore thick wooden shoes, so that her 
little instep became quite red, althogether red. 

In the middle of the village lived an old shoemaker's wife; 
she sat and sewed, as well as she could a pair of little shoes, 
of old strips of red cloth ; they were clumsy enough, but well 
meant, and the little girl was to have them. The little girl's 
name was Karen. 

On the day when her mother was buried she received the 
red shoes and wore them for the first time. They were cer- 
tainly not suited for mourning; but she had no others, and 
therefore thrust her little bare feet into them and walked 
behind the plain deal coffin. 

Suddenly a great carriage came by, and in the carriage sat 
an old lady : she looked at the little girl and felt pity for her, 
and said to the clergyman,— 

"Give me the little girl, and I will provide for her." 

Karen thought this was for the sake of the shoes; but the 
Old Lady declared they were hideous ; and they were burned. 
But Karen herself was clothed neatly and properly: she was 
taught to read and to sew, and the people said she was agree- 
able. But her mirror said, "You are much more than agree- 
able ; you are beautiful." 

Once the Queen travelled through the country, and had her 



350 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

little daughter with her; and the daughter was a Princess. 
And the people flocked toward the castle, and Karen too was 
among them; and the little Princess stood in a fine white 
dress at a window, and let herself be gazed at. She had 
neither train nor golden crown, but she wore splendid red 
morocco shoes ; they were certainly far handsomer than those 
the shoemaker's wife had made for little Karen. Nothing 
in the world can compare with red shoes ! 

Now Karen was old enough to be confirmed: new clothes 
were made for her, and she was to have new shoes. The rich 
shoemaker in the town took the measure of her little feet; 
this was done in his own house, in his little room, and there 
stood great glass cases with neat shoes and shining boots. It 
had quite a charming appearance, but the Old Lady could not 
see well, and therefore took no pleasure in it. Among the 
shoes stood a red pair, just like those which the Princess 
had worn. How beautiful they were! The shoemaker also 
said they had been made for a count's child, but they had not 
fitted. 

"That must be patent leather," observed the Old Lady, 
"the shoes shine so !" 

"Yes, they shine !" replied Karen ; and they fitted her, and 
were bought. But the Old Lady did not know that they were 
red; for she would never have allowed Karen to go to her 
Confirmation in red shoes ; and that is what Karen did. 

Every one was looking at her shoes. And when she went 
across the church porch, toward the door of the choir, it 
seemed to her as if the old pictures on the tombstones, the 
portraits of clergymen and clergymen's wives, in their stiff 
collars and long black garments, fixed their eyes upon her red 
shoes. And she thought of her shoes only, when the priest 
laid his hand upon her head and spoke holy words. And the 
organ pealed solemnly, the children sang with their fresh 
sweet voices, and the old precentor sang too; but Karen 
thought only of her red shoes. 

In the afternoon the Old Lady was informed by every one 
that the shoes were red ; and she said it was naughty and un- 
suitable, and that when Karen went to church in future, she 
should always go in black shoes, even if rhey were old. 

Next Sunday was Sacrament Sunday. And Karen looked 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 351 

at the black shoes, and she looked at the red ones — looked at 
them again — and put on the red ones. 

The sun shone gloriously; Karen and the Old Lady went 
along the foot-path through the fields, and it was rather 
dusty. 

By the church door stood an old invalid soldier with a 
crutch and a long beard ; the beard was rather red than white, 
for it was red altogether; and he bowed down almost to the 
ground, and asked the Old Lady if he might dust her shoes. 
And Karen also stretched out her little foot. 

"Look what pretty dancing shoes !*' said the Old Soldier. 
"Fit so tightly when you dance !" 

And he tapped the soles with his hand. And the Old Lady 
gave the Soldier an alms, and went into the church with 
Karen. 

And every one in the church looked at Karen's red shoes, 
and all the pictures looked at them. And while Karen knelt 
in the church she only thought of her red shoes ; and she for- 
got to sing her psalm, and forgot to say her prayer. 

Now all the people went out of church, and the Old Lady 
stepped into her carriage. Karen lifted up her foot to step 
in too; then the Old Soldier said, — 

"Look, what beautiful dancing shoes V* 

And Karen could not resist: she was obliged to dance a 
few steps; and when she once began, her legs went on 
dancing. It was just as though the shoes had obtained power 
over her. She danced round the corner of the church — she 
could not help it; the coachman was obliged to run behind 
her and seize her : he lifted her into the carriage, but her feet 
went on dancing, so that she kicked the good Old Lady vio- 
lently. At last they took off her shoes and her legs became 
quiet. 

At home the shoes were put away in a cupboard ; but Karen 
could not resist looking at them. 

Now the Old Lady became very ill, and it was said she 
would not recover. She had to be nursed and waited on ; and 
this was no one's duty so much as Karen's. But there was to 
be a great ball in the town, and Karen was invited. She 
looked at the Old Lady who could not recover ; she looked at 
the red shoes, and thought there would be no harm in it. She 



352 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

put on the shoes, and that she might do very well; but they 
went to the ball and began to dance. 

But when she wished to go to the right hand, the shoes 
danced to the left, and when she wanted to go up-stairs, the 
shoes danced downward, down into the street and out at the 
town gate. She danced, and was obliged to dance, straight 
out into the dark wood. 

There was something glistening up among the trees, and 
she thought it was the moon, for she saw a face. But it was 
the Old Soldier with the red beard: he sat and nodded, and 
said, — 

"Look, what beautiful dancing shoes!" 

Then she was frightened, and wanted to throw away the 
red shoes; but they clung fast to her. And she tore off her 
stockings : but the shoes had grown fast to her feet. And she 
danced and was compelled to go dancing over field and 
meadow, in rain and sunshine, by night and by day; but it 
was most dreadful at night. 

She danced out into the open church-yard; but the dead 
there do not dance; they have far better things to do. She 
wished to sit down on the poor man's grave, where the bitter 
fern grows; but there was no peace nor rest for her. And 
when she danced toward the open church door, she saw there 
an angel in long white garments, with wings that reached 
from his shoulders to his feet; his countenance was serious 
and stern, and in his hand he held a sword that was broad 
and gleaming. 

"Thou shalt dance!" he said — "dance on thy red shoes, 
till thou art pale and cold, and till thy body shrivels to a skel- 
eton. Thou shalt dance from door to door ; and where proud, 
haughty children dwell, shalt thou knock, that they may hear 
thee, and be afraid of thee ! Thou shalt dance, dance !" 

"Mercy !" cried Karen. 

But she did not hear what the Angel answered, for the 
shoes carried her away — carried her through the door on to 
the field, over stock and stone, and she was always obliged to 
dance. 

One morning she danced past a door which she knew well. 
There was a sound of psalm-singing within, and a coffin was 
carried out, adorned with flowers. Then she knew that the 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 353 

Old Lady was dead, and she felt that she was deserted by all, 
and condemned by the Angel of heaven. 

She danced, and was compelled to dance — to dance in the 
dark night. The shoes carried her on over thorn and brier ; 
she scratched herself till she bled; she danced away across 
the heath to a little lonely house. Here she knew the execu- 
tioner dwelt; and she tapped with her fingers on the panes, 
and called, — 

**Come outj come out! I cannot come in, for I must 
dance !" 

And the Executioner said, — 

"You probably don't know who I am? I cut off the bad 
people's heads with my axe, and mark how my axe rings !" 

"Do not strike off my head," said Karen, "for if you do I 
cannot repent of my sin. But strike off my feet with the red 
shoes !" 

And then she confessed all her sin, and the Executioner cut 
off her feet with the red shoes; but the shoes danced away 
with the little feet over the fields and into the deep forest. 

And he cut her a pair of wooden feet, with crutches, and 
taught her a psalm, which the criminals always sing ; and she 
kissed the hand that had held the axe, and went away across 
the heath. 

"Now I have suffered pain enough for the red shoes," said 
she. "Now I will go into the church that they may see me." 
And she went quickly toward the church door ; but when she 
came there the red shoes danced before her, so that she was 
frightened and turned back. 

The whole week through she was sorrowful, and wept 
many bitter tears ; but when Sunday came, she said, — 

"Now I have suffered and striven enough ! I think that I 
am just as good as many of those who sit in the church and 
carry their heads high." 

And then she went boldly on; but she did not get farther 
than the church-yard gate before she saw the red shoes 
dancing along before her: then she was seized with terror, 
and turned back, and repented of her sin right heartily. 

And she went to the parsonage, and begged to be taken 
there as a servant. She promised to be industrious, and to 
do all she could : she did not care for wages, and only wished 



354 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

to be under a roof and with good people. The clergyman's 
wife pitied her, and took her into her service. And she was 
industrious and thoughtful. Silently she sat and listened 
when in the evening the pastor read the Bible aloud. All the 
little ones were very fond of her; but when they spoke of 
dress and splendor and beauty she would shake her head. 

Next Sunday they all went to church, and she was asked if 
she wished to go too ; but she looked sadly, with tears in her 
eyes, at her crutches. And then the others went to hear 
God's word; but she went alone into her little room, which 
was only large enough to contain her bed and a chair. And 
here she sat with her hymn-book; and as she read it with a 
pious mind, the wind bore the notes of the organ over to her 
from the church; and she lifted up her face, wet with tears, 
and said, — 

"O Lord, help me !" 

Then the sun shone so brightly; and before her stood the 
Angel in the white garments, the same she had seen that night 
at the church door. But he no longer grasped the sharp 
sword: he held a green branch covered with roses; and he 
touched the ceiling, and it rose up high and wherever he 
touched it a golden star gleamed forth; and he touched the 
walls, and they spread forth widely, and she saw the organ 
which was pealing its rich sounds; and she saw the old 
pictures of clergymen and their wives ; and the congregation 
sat in the decorated seats, and sang from their hymn-books. 
The church had come to the poor girl in her narrow room, or 
her chamber had become a church. She sat in the chair with 
the rest of the clergyman's people; and when they had fin- 
ished the psalm, and looked up, they nodded and said, — 

"That was right, that you came here, Karen." 

"It was mercy !" said she. 

And the organ sounded its glorious notes; and the chil- 
dren's voices singing in chorus sounded sweet and lovely; 
the clear sunshine streamed so warm through the window 
upon the chair in which Karen sat ; and her heart became so 
filled with sunshine, peace, and joy that it broke. Her soul 
flew on the sunbeams to heaven ; and there was nobody who 
asked after the Red Shoes. 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 355 



LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS 

" My poor flowers are quite dead ! '* said little Ida. 
" They were so pretty yesterday, and now all the leaves 
hang withered. Why do they do that ? " she asked the 
student, who sat on the sofa; for she liked him very much. 
He knew the prettiest stories, and could cut out the most 
amusing pictures: hearts, with little ladies in them who 
danced; flowers, and great castles in which one could open 
the doors ; he was a merry student. " Why do the flowers 
look so faded to-day ? " she asked again, and showed him 
a nosegay, which was quite withered. 

" Do you know what's the matter with them ? " said the 
Student. " The flowers have been at a ball last night, and 
that's why they hang their heads." 

" But flowers cannot dance ! " cried little Ida. 

"O yes," said the Student, "when it grows dark, and 
we are asleep, they jump about merrily. Almost every 
night they have a ball." 

" Can children go to this ball ? " 

" Yes," said the Student, " quite little daisies, and lilies 
of the valley." 

" Where do the beautiful flowers dance ? " asked Ida. 

" Have you not often been outside the town gate, by the 
great castle, where the king lives in summer, and where 
the beautiful garden is with all the flowers? You have seen 
the swans, which swim up to you when you want to give 
them bread crumbs? There are capital balls there, believe 
me. 

" I was out there in the garden yesterday, with my moth- 
er," said Ida ; " but all the .leaves were off the trees, and 
there was not one flower left. Where are they? In the 
summer I saw so many." 

" They are within, in the castle," replied the Student. 
" You must know, as soon as the king and all the court 
go to town, the flowers run out of the garden into the 
castle and are merry. You should see that. The two most 
beautiful roses seat themselves on the throne, and then 
they are king and queen; all the red coxcombs range them- 



356 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

selves on either side, and stand and bow; they are the 
chamberlains. Then all the pretty flowers come, and there 
is a great ball. The blue violets represent little naval cadets ; 
they dance with hyacinths and crocuses, which they call 
young ladies; the tulips and great tiger-lilies are old ladies 
who keep watch that the dancing is well done, and that every- 
thing goes on with propriety." 

" But," asked little Ida, " is nobody there who hurts the 
flowers, for dancing in the king's castle ? " 

There is nobody who really knows about it," answered 
the Student. " Sometimes, certainly, the old steward of 
the castle comes at night, and he has to watch there. He 
has a great bunch of keys with him; but as soon as the 
flowers hear the keys rattle they are quite quiet, hide be- 
hind the long curtains, and only poke their heads out. 
Then the old steward says, " I smell that there are flowers 
here, but he cannot see them." 

"That is famous ! " cried little Ida, clapping her hands. 
" But should not I be able to see the flowers ? " 

" Yes," said the student : " only remember, when you go 
out again, to peep through the window; then you will see 
them. That is what I did to-day. There was a long yellow 
lily lying on the sofa and stretching herself. She was a court 
lady." 

" Can the flowers out of the Botanical Garden get there ? 
Can they go the long distance ? " 

" Yes, certainly," replied the Student ; " if they like they 
can fly. Have you not seen the beautiful butterflies — red, 
yellow, and white? They almost look like flowers; and that 
is what they have been. They have flown off their stalks 
high into the air, and have beaten it with their leaves, 
as if these leaves were little wings, and thus they flew. 
And because they behaved themselves well, they got leave 
to fly about in the day-time too, and were not obliged to 
sit still about their stalks at home; and thus at last the 
leaves became real wings. That you have seen yourself. 
It may be, however, that the flowers in the Botanical Gar- 
den have never been in the king's castle, or that they don't 
know of the merry proceedings there at night. Therefore 
I will tell you something: he will be very much surprised, 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 357 

the botanical professor, who lives close by here. You 
know him, do you not? When you come into his garden, 
you must tell one of the flowers that there is a great ball 
yonder in the castle. Then that flower will tell it to all the 
rest, and then they will fly away : when the professor comes 
out into the garden, there will not be a single flower left, 
and he won't be able to make out where they are gone." 

"But how can one flower tell it to another? For, you 
know, flowers cannot speak." 

"That they cannot^ certainly," replied the Student; "but 
then they make signs. Have you not noticed that when 
the wind blows a little, the flowers nod at one another, and 
move all their green leaves? They can understand that 
just as well as we when we speak together." 

"Can the professor understand these signs?" asked Ida. 

" Yes, certainly. He came one morning into his garden, 
and saw a great stinging-nettle standing there, and making 
signs to a beautiful red carnation with its leaves. It was 
saying, ' You are so pretty, and I love you with all my 
heart.' But the professor does not like that kind of thing, 
and he directly slapped the stinging-nettle upon its leaves, 
for those are its fingers; but he stung himself, and since 
that time he has not dared to touch a stinging-nettle." 

"That is funny," cried little Ida; and she laughed. 

" How can any one put such notions into a child's head ? " 
said the tiresome Privy Councilor, who had come to pay a 
visit, and was sitting on the sofa. He did not like the 
Student, and always grumbled when he saw him cutting 
out the merry, funny pictures — sometimes a man hanging 
on a gibbet and holding a heart in his hand, to show that 
he stole hearts; sometimes an old witch riding on a broom, 
and carrying her husband on her nose. The Councilor 
could not bear this, and then he said, just as he did now, 
"How can any one put such notions into a child's head? 
Those are stupid fancies ! " 

But to little Ida, what the Student told about her flowers 
seemed very droll; and she thought much about it. The 
flowers hung their heads, for they were tired because they 
had danced all night; they were certainly ill. Then she 
went with them to her other toys, which stood on a pretty 

HC XVII— w 



358 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

little table, and the whole drawer was full of beautiful 
things. In the doll's bed lay her doll Sophy, asleep; but 
little Ida said to her, — 

"You must really get up, Sophy, and manage to lie in 
the drawer for to-night. The poor flowers are ill, and they 
must lie in your bed; perhaps they will then get well 
again." 

And she at once took the doll out; but the doll looked 
cross, and did not say a single word; for she was cross 
because she could not keep her own bed. 

Then Ida laid the flowers in the doll's bed, pulled the little 
coverlet quite up over them, and said they were to lie still 
and be good, and she would make them some tea, so that 
they might get well again, and be able to get up to-morrow. 
And she drew the curtains closely round the little bed, so 
that the sun should not shine in their eyes. The whole 
evening through she could not help thinking of what the 
Student had told her. And when she was going to bed her- 
self she was obliged first to look behind the curtains which 
hung before the windows where her mother's beautiful 
flowers stood — hyacinths as well as tulips; then she whis- 
pered, " I know you are going to the ball to-night ! " But 
the flowers made as if they did not understand a word, and 
did not stir a leaf ; but still little Ida knew what she knew. 

When she was in bed she lay for a long time thinking 
how pretty it must be to see the beautiful flowers dancing 
out in the king's castle. " I wonder if my flowers have really 
been there ? " And then she fell asleep. In the night she 
woke up again: she had dreamed of the flowers, and of the 
Student with whom the Councilor found fault. It was quite 
quiet in the bedroom where Ida lay; the night-lamp burned 
on the table, and father and mother were asleep. 

"I wonder if my flowers are still lying in Sophy's bed?" 
she thought to herself. "How I should like to know it ! " 
She raised herself a little, and looked at the door, which 
stood ajar: within lay the flowers and all her playthings. 
She listened, and then it seemed to her as if she heard some 
one playing on the piano in the next room, but quite softly 
and prettily, as she had never heard it before. 

" Now all the flowers are certainly dancing in there ! " 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 359 

thought she. " O, how glad I should be to see it ! " But 
she dared not get up, for she would have disturbed her father 
and mother. 

"If they would only come in ! " thought she. But the 
flowers did not come, and the music continued to play beauti- 
fully; then she could not bear it any longer, for it was 
too pretty; she crept out of her little bed, and went quietly 
to the door, and looked into the room. 

O, how splendid it was, what she saw! 

There was no night-lamp burning, but still it was quite 
light : the moon shone through the window into the middle of 
the floor ; it was almost like day. All the hyacinths and tulips 
stood in two long rows in the room; there were none at all 
left at the window — there stood the empty flower-pots. 
On the floor all the flowers were dancing very gracefully 
round each other, making perfect turns, and holding each 
other by the long green leaves as they swung round. But 
at the piano sat a great yellow lily, which little Ida had 
certainly seen in summer; for she remembered how the 
Student had said, " How like that one is to Miss Lina." 
Then he had been laughed at by all; but now it seemed 
really to little Ida as if the long, yellow flower looked like 
the young lady; and it had just her manners in playing 
— sometimes bending its long, yellow face to one side, some- 
times to the other, and nodding in tune to the charming 
music ! No one noticed little Ida. Then she saw a great 
blue crocus hop into the middle of the table, where the 
toys stood, and go to the doll's bed and pull the curtains 
aside ; there lay the sick flowers, but they got up directly, and 
nodded to the others, to say that they wanted to dance too. 
The old Chimney-sweep doll, whose underlip was broken 
off, stood up and bowed to the pretty flowers : these did not 
look at all ill now; they jumped down to the others, and were 
very merry. 

Then it seemed as if something fell down from the table. 
Ida looked that way. It was the birch rod which was jump- 
ing down ! it seemed almost as if it belonged to the flowers. 
At any rate it was very neat; and a little wax doll, with just 
such a broad hat on its head as the Councilor wore, sat upon 
it. The birch rod hopped about among the flowers on its 



360 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

three legs, and stamped quite loud, for it was dancing the 
mazourka; and the other flowers could not manage that 
dance, because they were too light, and unable to stamp like 
that. 

The wax doll on the birch rod all at once became quite 
great and long, turned itself over the paper flowers, and said, 
" How can one put such things in a child's head ? those 
are stupid fancies ! " and then the wax doll was exactly like 
the Councilor with the broad hat, and looked just as yellow 
and cross as he. But the paper flowers hit him on his thin 
legs, and then he shrank up again, and became quite 
a little wax doll. That was very amusing to see; and little 
Ida could not restrain her laughter. The birch rod went on 
dancing, and the Councilor was obliged to dance too; it was 
no use, he might make himself great and long, or remain 
the little yellow wax doll with the big black hat. Then the 
other flowers put in a good word for him, especially those 
who had lain in the doll's bed, and then the birch rod gave 
over. At the same moment there was a loud knocking at the 
drawer, inside where Ida's doll, Sophy, lay with many other 
toys. The Chimney-sweep ran to the edge of the table, lay 
flat down on his stomach, and began to pull the drawer out a 
little. Then Sophy raised herself, and looked round quite as- 
tonished. 

" There must be a ball here," said she ; " why did nobody 
tell me?" 

" Will you dance with me ? " asked the Chimney-sweep. 

" You are a nice sort of fellow to dance ! " she replied, and 
turned her back upon him. 

Then she seated herself upon the drawer, and thought 
that one of the flowers would come and ask her; but not 
one of them came. Then she coughed, " Hem ! hem ! hem ! " 
but for all that not one came. The Chimney-sweep now 
danced all alone, and that was not at all so bad. 

As none of the flowers seemed to notice Sophy, she let 
herself fall down from the drawer straight upon the floor, 
so that there was a great noise. The flowers now all came 
running up, to ask if she had not hurt herself; and they 
were all very polite to her, especially the flowers that had 
lain in her bed. But she had not hurt herself at all; and 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 361 

Ida's flowers all thanked her for the nice bed, and were kind 
to her, took her into the middle of the room, where the 
moon shone in, and danced with her; and all the other flow- 
ers formed a circle round her. Now Sophy was glad, and 
said they might keep her bed, she did not at all mind lying 
in the drawer. 

But the flowers said, " We thank you heartily, but in 
any way we cannot live long. To-morrow we shall be quite 
dead. But tell little Ida she is to bury us out in the garden, 
where the canary lies; then we shall wake up again in 
summer, and be far more beautiful." 

" No, you must not die," said Sophy ; and she kissed the 
flowers. 

Then the room door opened, and a great number of 
splendid flowers came dancing in. Ida could not imagine 
whence they had come; these must certainly all be flowers 
from the king's castle yonder. First of all came two glori- 
ous roses, and they had little gold crowns on; they were a 
king and a queen. Then came the prettiest stocks and 
carnations; and they bowed in all directions. They had 
music with them. Great poppies and peonies blew upon 
pea-pods till they were quite red in the face. The blue 
hyacinths and the little white snow-drops rang just as if 
they had been bells. That was wonderful music! Then 
came many other flowers, and danced all together; the 
blue violets and the pink primroses, daisies and the lilies of 
the valley. And all the flowers kissed one another. It 
was beautiful to look at ! 

At last the flowers wished one another good-night; then 
little Ida, too, crept to bed, where she dreamed of all she 
had seen. 

When she rose next morning, she went quickly to the little 
table, to see if the pretty flowers were still there. She drew 
aside the curtains of the little bed; there were they all, but 
they were quite faded, far more than yesterday. Sophy was ly- 
ing in the drawer where Ida laid her ; she looked very sleepy. 

" Do you remember what you were to say to me ? " asked 
little Ida. 

But Sophy looked quite stupid, and did not say a single 
word. 



362 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

" You are not good at all ! " said Ida. "And yet they all 
danced with you." 

Then she took a little box, on which were painted 
beautiful birds, and opened it, and laid the dead flowers in it. 

" That shall be your pretty coffin," said she, " and when 
my cousins come to visit me by and by they shall help me to 
bury you outside in the garden, so that you may grow again 
in summer, and become more beautiful than ever." 

These cousins were two merry boys. Their names were 
Gustave and Adolphe; their father had given them two 
new cross-bows, and they brought these with them to 
show to Ida. She told them about the poor flowers which 
had died, and then they got leave to bury them.. The two 
boys went first, with their cross-bows on their shoulders, 
and little Ida followed with the dead flowers in the pretty 
box. Out in the garden a little grave was dug. Ida first 
kissed the flowers, and then laid them in the earth in the 
box, and Adolphe and Gustave shot with their cross-bows 
over the grave, for they had neither guns nor cannons. 



THE ANGEL 

Whenever a good child dies, an angel from heaven comes 
down to earth and takes the dead child in his arms, spreads 
out his great white wings, and flies away over all the places 
the child has loved, and picks quite a handful of flowers, 
which he carries up to the Almighty, that they may bloom 
in heaven more brightly than on earth. And the Father 
presses all the flowers to His heart; but He kisses the 
flower that pleases Him best, and the flower is then endowed 
with a voice, and can join in the great chorus of praise ! 

" See " — this is what an Angel said, as he carried a dead 
child up to heaven, and the Child heard, as if in a dream; 
and they went on over the regions of home where the little 
Child had played, and came through gardens with beautiful 
flowers — " which of these shall we take with us to plant in 
heaven ?" asked the Angel. 

Now, there stood near them a slender, beautiful rose-bush; 
but a wicked hand had broken the stem, so that all the 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 363 

branches, covered with half-opened buds, were hanging 
around, quite withered. 

" The poor rose-bush ! " said the Child. " Take it, that it 
may bloom up yonder." 

And the Angel took it, and kissed the Child, and the little 
one half opened his eyes. They plucked some of the rich 
flowers, but also took with them the wild pansy and the de- 
spised buttercup. 

" Now we have flowers," said the Child. 

And the Angel nodded, but he did not yet fly upward to 
heaven. It was night and quite silent. They remained in 
the great city; they floated about there in a small street, 
where lay whole heaps of straw, ashes, and sweepings, for it 
had been removal day. There lay fragments of plates, bits 
of plaster, rags, and old hats, and all this did not look well. 
And the Angel pointed amid all this confusion to a few frag- 
ments of a flower-pot, and to a lump of earth which had 
fallen out, and which was kept together by the roots of a 
great dried field flower, which was of no use, and had there- 
fore been thrown out into the street. 

" We will take that with us," said the Angel. " I will tell 
you why, as we fly onward." 

" Down yonder in the narrow lane, in the low cellar, lived 
a poor sick boy; from his childhood he had been bed- 
ridden. When he was at his best he could go up and down 
the room a few times, leaning on crutches; that was the 
utmost he could do. For a few days in summer the sun- 
beams would penetrate for a few hours to the ground of the 
cellar, and when the poor boy sat there and the sun shone 
on him, and he looked at the red blood in his three fingers, 
as he held them up before his face, he would say, ' Yes, to- 
day he has been out ! ' He knew the forest with its beautiful 
vernal green only from the fact that the neighbor's little son 
brought him the first green branch of a beech-tree, and he 
held that up over his head, and dreamed he was in the beech 
wood, where the sun shone and the birds sang. On a spring 
day the neighbor's boy brought him also field flowers, and 
among them was, by chance, one to which the root was still 
hanging; and so it was planted in a flower-pot, and placed 
by the bed, close to the window. And the flower had been 



364 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

planted by a fortunate hand; and it grew, threw out new 
shoots, and bore flowers every year. It became a splendid 
flower garden to the sickly boy — his little treasure here on 
earth. He watered it, and tended it, and took care that it 
had the benefit of every ray of sunlight, down to the latest 
that struggled in through the narrow window ; and the flower 
itself was woven into his dreams, for it grew for him and 
gladdened his eyes, and spread its fragrance about him ; and 
toward it he turned in death, when the Father called him. 
He has now been with the Almighty for a year ! for a year 
the flower has stood forgotten in the window, and is with- 
ered; and thus, at the removal, it has been thrown out into 
the dust of the street. And this is the poor flower which we 
have taken into our nosegay ; for this flower has given more 
joy than the richest in a queen's garden." 

" But how do you know all this ? " asked the Child. 

" I know it," said the Angel, " for I myself was that boy 
who walked on crutches. I know my flower well." 

And the Child opened his eyes and looked into the glorious, 
happy face of the Angel; and at the same moment they en- 
tered the regions where there is peace and joy. And the 
Father pressed the dead Child to His bosom, and then it 
received wings like the Angel, and flew hand in hand with 
him. And the Almighty kissed the dry withered field flower, 
and it received a voice and sang with all the angels hovering 
around — some near, and some in wider circles, and some in 
infinite distance, but all equally happy. And they all sang — 
little and great, the good, happy Child, and the poor field 
flower that had lain there withered, thrown among the dust 
in the rubbish of the removal day, in the dark narrow lane. 



THE FLYING TRUNK 

There was once a merchant, who was so rich that he 
could pave the whole street with gold, and almost have 
enough left for a little lane. But he did not do that; he 
knew how to employ his money differently. When he spent 
a shilling he got back a crown, such a clever merchant was 
he ; and this continued till he died. 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 365 

His son now got all this money ; and he lived merrily, go- 
ing to the masquerade every evening, making kites out of 
dollar notes, and playing at ducks and drakes on the sea- 
coast with gold pieces instead of pebbles. In this way the 
money might soon be spent, and indeed it was so. At last 
he had no more than four shillings left, and no clothes to 
wear but a pair of slippers and an old dressing-gown. Now 
his friends did not trouble themselves any more about him, 
as they could not walk with him in the street, but one of 
them, who was good-natured, sent him an old trunk, with 
the remark, " Pack up ! " Yes, that was all very well, but 
he had nothing to pack, therefore he seated himself in the 
trunk. 

That was a wonderful trunk. So soon as any one pressed 
the lock the trunk could fly. He pressed it, and whirr! 
away flew the trunk with him through the chimney and over 
the clouds, farther and farther away. But as often as the 
bottom of the trunk cracked a little he was in great fear 
lest it might go to pieces, and then he would have flung a 
fine somersault! In that way he came to the land of the 
Turks. He hid the trunk in a wood under some dry leaves, 
and then went into the town. He could do that very well, 
for among the Turks all the people went about dressed like 
himself in dressing-gown and slippers. Then he met a 
nurse with a little child. 

" Here, you Turkish nurse," he began, " what kind of a 
great castle is that close by the town, in which the windows 
are so high up ? " 

" There dwells the Sultan's daughter," replied she. " It is 
prophesied that she will be very unhappy respecting a lover ; 
and therefore nobody may go near her, unless the Sultan and 
Sultana are there too." 

" Thank you ! " said the Merchant's Son ; and he went out 
into the forest, seated himself in his trunk, flew on the roof, 
and crept through the window into the Princess's room. 

She was lying asleep on the sofa, and she was so beautiful 
that the Merchant's Son was compelled to kiss her. Then she 
awoke, and was startled very much; but he said he was a 
Turkish angel who had come down to her through the air, 
and that pleased her. 



366 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

They sat down side by side, and he told her stories about 
her eyes; and he told her they were the most glorious dark 
lakes, and that thoughts were swimming about in them like 
mermaids. And he told her about her forehead ; that it was 
a snowy mountain with the most splendid halls and pictures. 
And he told her about the stork who brings the lovely little 
children. 

Yes, those were fine histories ! Then he asked the Princess 
if she would marry him, and she said " Yes," directly. 

" But you must come here on Saturday," said she. " Then 
the Sultan and Sultana will be here to tea. They will be very 
proud that I am to marry a Turkish angel. But take care 
that you know a very pretty story, for both my parents are 
very fond indeed of stories. My mother likes them high- 
flown and moral, but my father likes them merry, so that 
one can laugh." 

" Yes, I shall bring no marriage gift but a story," said he ; 
and so they parted. But the Princess gave him a sabre, the 
sheath embroidered with gold pieces, and that was very use- 
ful to him. 

Now he flew away, bought a new dressing-gown, and sat 
in the forest and made up a story; it was to be ready by 
Saturday, and that was not an easy thing. 

By the time he had finished it Saturday had come. The 
Sultan and his wife and all the court were at the Princess's 
to tea. He was received very graciously. 

" Will you relate us a story ? " said the Sultana ; " one that 
is deep and edifying." 

" Yes, but one that we can laugh at," said the Sultan. 

"Certainly," he replied; and so began. And now listen 
well. 

" There was once a bundle of Matches, and these Matches 
were particularly proud of their high descent. Their genea- 
logical tree, that is to say, the great fir-tree of which each of 
them was a little splinter, had been a great old tree out in the 
forest. The Matches now lay between a Tinder-box and an 
old Iron Pot; and they were telling about the days of their 
youth. * Yes, when we were upon the green boughs,' they 
said, * then we really were upon the green boughs ! Every 
morning and evening there was diamond tea for us, — I mean 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 367 

dew ; we had sunshine all day long whenever the sun shone, 
and all the little birds had to tell stories. We could s^e very 
well that we were rich for the other trees were only dressed 
out in summer, while our family had the means to wear green 
dresses in the winter as well. But then the wood-cutter 
came, like a great revolution, and our family was broken up. 
The head of the family got an appointment as mainmast in 
a first-rate ship, which could sail round the world if neces- 
sary; the other branches went to other places, and now we 
have the office of kindling a light for the vulgar herd. That's 
how we grand people came to be in the kitchen.' 

" ' My fate was of different kind,' said the Iron Pot, which 
stood next to the Matches. ' From the beginning, ever since 
I came into the world, there has been a great deal of scour- 
ing arid cooking done in me. I look after the practical part, 
and am the first here in the house. My only pleasure is to 
sit in my place after dinner, very clean and neat, and to 
carry on a sensible conversation with my comrades. But 
except the Water-pot, which is sometimes taken down into 
the court-yard, we always live within our four walls. Our 
only newsmonger is the Market Basket; but he speaks very 
uneasily about the government and the people. Yes, the 
other day there was an old pot that fell down, from fright, 
and burst. He's liberal, I can tell you ! ' — ' Now you're talk- 
ing too much,' the Tinder-box interrupted, and the steel 
struck against the flint, so that sparks flew out. * Shall we 
not have a merry evening ? ' 

" ' Yes, let us talk about who is the grandest,' said the 
Matches. 

" ' No, I don't like to talk about myself,' retorted the Pot. 
'Let us get up an evening entertainment. I will begin. I 
will tell a story from real life, something that every one has 
experienced, so that we can easily imagine the situation, and 
take pleasure in it. On the Baltic, by the Danish shore ' — 

" ' That's a pretty beginning ! ' cried all the Plates. ' That 
will be a story we shall like.' 

" ' Yes, it happened to me in my youth, when I lived in a 
family where the furniture was polished, the floors scoured, 
and new curtains were put up every fortnight.' 

" ' What an interesting way you have of telling a story ! ' 



368 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

said the Carpet Broom. ' One can tell directly that a man is 
speaking who has been in woman's society. There's some- 
thing pure runs through it.' 

"And the Pot went on telling his story, and the end was as 
good as the beginning. 

"All the Plates rattled with joy, and the Carpet Broom 
brought some green parsley out of the dust-hole, and put it 
like a wreath on the Pot, for he knew that it would vex 
the others. * If I crown him to-day,' it thought, * he will 
crown me to-morrow.' 

" * Now I'll dance,' said the Fire Tongs ; and they danced. 
Preserve us ! how that implement could lift up one leg ! The 
old chair-cushion burst to see it. ' Shall I be crowned too ? * 
thought the Tongs ; and indeed a wreath was awarded. 

" * They're only common people, after all ! ' thought the 
Matches. 

" Now the Tea-urn was to sing ; but she said she had taken 
cold, and could not sing unless she felt boiling within. But 
that was only affectation: she did not want to sing, except 
when she was in the parlor with the grand people. 

" In the window sat an old Quill Pen, with which the maid 
generally wrote: there was nothing remarkable about this 
pen, except that it had been dipped too deep into the ink, 
but she was proud of that. * If the Tea-urn won't sing,' she 
said, * she may leave it alone. Outside hangs a nightingale 
in a cage, and he can sing. He hasn't had any education, 
but this evening we'll say nothing about that.' 

" ' I think it very wrong,' said the Tea-kettle — he was the 
kitchen singer, and half-brother to the Tea-urn — ' that that 
rich and foreign bird should be listened to ! Is that patri- 
otic ? Let the Market Basket decide.' 

" * I am vexed,' said the Market Basket. * No one can 
imagine how much I am secretly vexed. Is that a proper 
way of spending the evening? Would it not be more sensi- 
ble to put the house in order? Let each one go to his own 
place, and I will arrange the whole game. That would be 
quite another thing.' 

" * Yes, let us make a disturbance,' cried they all. Then 
the door opened, and the maid came in, and they all stood 
still; not one stirred. But there was not one pot among 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 369 

them who did not know what he could do, and how grand 
he was. * Yes, if I had liked,' each one thought, ' it might 
have been a very merry evening.' 

" The servant girl took the Matches and lighted the fire 
with them. Mercy! how they sputtered and burst out into 
flame ! ' Now every one can see,' thought they, * that we are 
the first. How we shine ! what a light ! ' — and they burned 
out." 

" That was a capital story," said the Sultana. " I feel my- 
self quite carried away to the kitchen, to the Matches. Yes, 
now thou shalt marry our daughter." 

"Yes, certainly," said the Sultan, "thou shalt marry our 
daughter on Monday." 

And they called him thou, because he was to belong to the 
family. 

The wedding was decided on, and on the evening before 
it the whole city was illuminated. Biscuits and cakes were 
thrown among the people, the street boys stood on their toes, 
called out " Hurrah ! " and whistled on their fingers. It was 
uncommonly splendid. 

" Yes, I shall have to give something as a treat,'* thought 
the Merchant's Son. So he bought rockets and crackers, and 
every imaginable sort of fire-work, put them all into his 
trunk, and flew up into the air. 

" Crack ! " how they went, and how they went off ! All 
the Turks hopped up with such a start that their slippers flew 
about their ears; such a meteor they had never yet seen. 
Now they could understand that it must be a Turkish angel 
who was going to marry the Princess. 

What stories people tell ! Every one whom he asked about 
it had seen it in a separate way ; but one and all thought it 
fine. 

" I saw the Turkish angel himself," said one. " He had 
eyes like glowing stars, and a beard like foaming water." 

" He flew up in a fiery mantle," said another ; " the most 
lovely little cherub peeped forth from among the folds." 

Yes, they were wonderful things that he heard ; and on the 
following day he was to be married. 

Now he went back to the forest to rest himself in his 
trunk. But what had become of that? A spark from the 



370 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

fire-works had set fire to it, and the trunk was burned to 
ashes. He could not fly any more, and could not get to 
his bride. 

She stood all day on the roof waiting; and most likely she 
is waiting still. But he wanders through the world, telling 
fairy tales; but they are not so merry as that one he told 
about the Matches. 

THE TINDER-BOX 

There came a Soldier marching along the high road 
— one, two! one, two! He had his knapsack on his back 
and a sabre by his side, for he had been in the wars, and 
now he wanted to go home. And on the way he met with 
an old Witch : she was very hideous, and her under lip hung 
down upon her breast. She said, " Good evening, Soldier. 
What a fine sword you have, and what a big knapsack! 
You're a proper soldier! Now you shall have as much 
money as you like to have." 

" I thank you, you old Witch ! " said the Soldier. 

" Do you see that great tree ? " quoth the Witch ; and she 
pointed to a tree which stood beside them. " It's quite 
hollow inside. You must climb to the top and then you'll 
see a hole, through which you can let yourself down and 
get deep into the tree. I'll tie a rope round your body, so 
that I can pull you up again when you call me." 

" What am I to do down in the tree? " asked the Soldier. 

" Get money," replied the Witch. " Listen to me. When 
you come down to the earth under the tree, you will find 
yourself in a great hall: it is quite light, for above three 
hundred lamps are burning there. Then you will see three 
doors; these you can open, for the keys are hanging 
there. If you go into the first chamber, you'll see a great 
chest in the middle of the floor; on this chest sits a dog, 
and he's got a pair of eyes as big as two tea-cups. But 
you need not care for that. I'll give you my blue checked 
apron, and you can spread it out upon the floor; then go 
up quickly and take the dog, and set him on my apron; 
then open the chest, and take as many shillings as you like. 
They are of copper: if you prefer silver, you must go 




You must climb to the top and then you'll see 

a hole, through which you can let 

yourself down and get deep 

into the t?-ee. PL 

tie a rope round your body, so that 

I can pull you up again when 

you call me.'' 

— The Tinder-Box, p. syo 




370 FOLK-IX)RE 

fire-works had set fire to it. rned to 

ashes. He could not fl; : get to 
his bride. 

She stood all day on tli kely she 

is waiting still. But he l telling 

fairy tales; but they art he told 
about the Matches. 



There came a S ^ 
— o%ie, two! one fr 
nnd a sabre irs, and 

. - hr. ,v-= .4 with 



«iv'.-: .^uiaier. 

What ; lapsack ! 



ap 

i\v. 

Tl 



'^\^l and 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 371 

into the second chamber. But there sits a dog with a 
pair of eyes as big as mill-wheels. But do not care for that. 
Set him upon my apron, and take some of the money. 
And if you want gold, you can have that too — in fact, as 
much as you can carry — if you go into the third chamber. 
But the dog that sits on the money-chest there has two 
eyes as big as round towers. He is a fierce dog, you may be 
sure; but you needn't be afraid, for all that. Only set him 
on my apron, and he won't hurt you; and take out of the 
chest as much gold as you like." 

" That's not so bad," said the Soldier. " But what am 
I to give you, you old Witch ? for you will not do it for noth- 
ing, I fancy." 

"No," replied the Witch, "not a single shilling will I 
have. You shall only bring me an old Tinder-box which 
my grandmother forgot when she was down there last." 

" Then tie the rope round my body," cried the Soldier. 

" Here it is," said the Witch, " and here's my blue checked 
apron." 

Then the Soldier climbed up into the tree, let himself 
slip down into the hole, and stood, as the Witch had said, 
in the great hall where the three hundred lamps were 
burning. 

Now he opened the first door. Ugh! there sat the dog 
with eyes as big as tea-cups, staring at him. "You're a 
nice fellow ! " exclaimed the Soldier ; and he set him on the 
Witch's apron, and took as many copper shillings as his 
pockets would hold, and then locked the chest, set the dog 
on it again, and went into the second chamber. Aha ! there 
sat the dog with eyes as big as mill-wheels. 

"You should not stare so hard at me," said the Soldier; 
" you might strain your eyes." And he set the dog upon 
the Witch's apron. And when he saw the silver money 
in the chest, he threw away all the copper money he had, 
and filled his pockets and his knapsack with silver only. 
Then he went into the third chamber. O, but that was 
horrid! The dog there really had eyes as big as towers, 
and they turned round and round in his head like wheels. 

" Good evening !" said the Soldier ; and he touched his 
cap, for he had never seen such a dog as that before. 



372 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

When he had looked at him a little more closely, he 
thought, "That will do," and lifted him down to the floor, 
and opened the chest. Mercy ! what a quantity of gold was 
there ! He could buy with it the whole town, and the sugar 
sucking-pigs of the cake woman, and all the tin soldiers, 
whips, and rocking-horses in the whole world. Yes, that 
was a quantity of money ! Now the Soldier threw away all 
the silver coin with which he had filled his pockets and his 
knapsack, and took gold instead : yes, all his pockets, his knap- 
sack, his boots, and his cap were filled, so that he could scarcely 
walk. Now indeed he had plenty of money. He put the 
dog on the chest, shut the door, and then called up through 
the tree, " Now pull me up, you old Witch." 

" Have you the Tinder-box ? " asked the Witch. 

" Plague on it ! " exclaimed the Soldier, " I had clean 
forgotten that." And he went and brought it. 

The Witch drew him up, and he stood on the high 
road again, with pockets, boots, knapsack, and cap full of 
gold. 

" What are you going to do with the Tinder-box ? " asked 
the Soldier. 

" That's nothing to you," retorted the Witch. " YouVe 
had your money; just give me the Tinder-box." 

" Nonsense ! " said the Soldier. " Tell me directly what 
you're going to do with it or I'll draw my sword and cut 
off your head." 

" No ! " cried the Witch. 

So the Soldier cut off her head. There she lay ! But he 
tied up all his money in her apron, took it on his back like 
a bundle, put the Tinder-box in his pocket, and went straight 
off toward the town. 

That was a splendid town! And he put up at the very 
best inn, and asked for the finest rooms, and ordered his 
favorite dishes, for now he was rich, as he had so much 
money. The servant who had to clean his boots certainly 
thought them a remarkably old pair for such a rich gentle- 
man; but he had not bought any new ones yet. The next 
day he procured proper boots and handsome clothes. Now 
our Soldier had become a fine gentleman ; and the people 
told him of all the splendid things which were in their city, 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 373 

and about the King, and what a pretty Princess the King's 
daughter was. 

" Where can one get to see her ? " asked the Soldier. 

" She is not to be seen at all," said they all together ; 
" she lives in a great copper castle, with a great many walls 
and towers round about it : no one but the king may go in and 
out there, for it has been prophesied that she shall marry 
a common soldier, and the King can't bear that." 

" I should like to see her," thought the Soldier ; but he 
could not get leave to do so. Now he lived merrily, went 
to the theatre, drove in the King's garden, and gave much 
money to the poor; and this was very kind of him, for he 
knew from old times how hard it is when one has not a 
shilling. Now he was rich, had fine clothes, and gained 
many friends, who all said he was a rare one, a true 
cavalier ; and that pleased the Soldier well. But as he spent 
money every day and never earned any, he had at last 
only two shillings left; and he was obliged to turn out of 
the fine rooms in which he had dwelt, and had to live in a 
little garret under the roof, and clean his boots for himself, 
and mend them with a darning needle. None of his friends 
came to see him, for there were too many stairs to climb. 

It was quite dark one evening, and he could not even 
buy himself a candle, when it occurred to him that there 
was a candle-end in the Tinder-box which he had taken 
out of the hollow tree into which the Witch had helped 
him. He brought out the Tinder-box and the candle end; 
but as soon as he struck fire and the sparks rose up from the 
flint, the door flew open, and the dog who had eyes as 
big as a couple of tea-cups, and whom he had seen in the 
tree, stood before him, and said, — 

"What are my lord's commands?" 

"What is this?" said the Soldier. "That's a famous 
Tinder-box, if I can get everything with it that I want! 
Bring me some money," said he to the dog; and whisk! the 
done was gone, and zuhisk ! he was back again, with a great 
bag full of shillings in his mouth. 

Now the Soldier knew what a capital Tinder-box this 
was. If he struck it once, the dog came who sat upon the 
chest of copper money; if he struck it twice the dog who 

HO XVII — X 



374 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

had the silver; and if he struck it three times, then appeared 
the dog who had the gold. Now the Soldier moved back 
into the fine rooms, and appeared again in handsome clothes ; 
and all his friends knew him again, and cared very much for 
him indeed. 

Once he thought to himself, *' It is a very strange thing 
that one cannot get to see the Princess. They all say she 
is very beautiful; but what is the use of that, if she has 
always to sit in the great copper castle with the many 
towers? Can I not get to see her at all? Where is my 
Tinder-box ? " And so he struck a light, and zvhisk ! came 
the dog with eyes as big as tea-cups. 

" It is midnight, certainly," said the Soldier, " but I should 
very much like to see the Princess, only for one little 
moment." 

And the dog was outside the door directly, and, before 
the Soldier thought it, came back with the Princess. She 
sat upon the dog's back and slept; and every one could see 
she was a real princess, for she was so lovely. The Soldier 
could not refrain from kissing her, for he was a thorough 
soldier. Then the dog ran back again with the Princess. 
But when morning came, and the King and Queen were 
drinking tea, the Princess said she had a strange dream 
the night before, about a dog and a soldier — that she had 
ridden upon the dog, and the soldier had kissed her. 

" That would be a fine history ! " said the Queen. 

So one of the old court ladies had to watch the next 
night by the Princess's bed, to see if this was really a 
dream, or what it might be. 

The Soldier had a great longing to see the lovely Prin- 
cess again; so the dog came in the night, took her away, 
and ran as fast as he could. But the old lady put on water- 
boots, and ran just as fast after him. When she saw that 
they both entered a great house, she thought, " Now I know 
where it is;" and with a bit of chalk she drew a great 
cross on the door. Then she went home and lay down, and 
the dog came up with the Princess; but when he saw that 
there was a cross drawn on the door where the Soldier 
lived, he took a piece of chalk too, and drew crosses on all 
the doors in the town. And that was cleverly done, for 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 375 

now the lady could not find the right door, because all the 
doors had crosses upon them. 

In the morning early came the King and Queen, the 
old court lady and all the officers, to see where it was 
the Princess had been. " Here it is ! " said the King, when 
he saw the first door with a cross upon it. " No, my dear 
husband, it is there ! " said the Queen, who described another 
door which also showed a cross. " But there is one, and 
there is one ! " said all, for wherever they looked there 
were crosses on the doors. So they saw that it would avail 
them nothing if they searched on. 

But the Queen was an exceedingly clever woman, who 
could do more than ride in a coach. She took her great 
gold scissors, cut a piece of silk into pieces, and made a neat 
little bag ; this bag she filled with fine wheat flour, and tied it 
on the Princess's back; and when that was done, she cut a 
little hole in the bag, so that the flour would be scattered 
along all the way which the Princess should take. 

In the night the dog came again, took the Princess on his 
back, and ran with her to the Soldier, who loved her very 
much, and would gladly have been a prince, so that he 
might have her for his wife. The dog did not notice at all 
how the flour ran out in a stream from the castle to the 
windows of the Soldier's house, where he ran up the wall 
with the Princess. In the morning the King and the 
Queen saw well enough where their daughter had been, and 
they took the Soldier and put him in prison. 

There he sat. O, but it was dark and disagreeable there! 
And they said to him, " To-morrow you shall be hanged." 
That was not amusing to hear, and he had left his Tinder- 
box at the inn. In the morning he could see, through the 
iron grating of the window, how the people were hurry- 
ing out of the town to see him hanged. He heard the drums 
beat and saw the soldiers marching. All the people were 
running out, and among them was a shoemaker's boy with 
leather apron and slippers, and he galloped so fast that one 
of his slippers flew off, and came right against the wall 
where the Soldier sat looking through the iron grating. 

*'Halloo, you shoemaker's boy! you needn't be in such 
a hurry," cried the Soldier to him: *' it will not begin till 



376 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

I come. But if you will run to where I lived, and bring me 
my Tinder-box, you shall have four shillings : but you must 
put your best leg foremost." 

The shoemaker's boy wanted to get the four shillings, so 
he went and brought the Tinder-box, and — well, we shall 
hear now what happened. 

Outside the town a great gallows had been built, and round 
it stood the soldiers and many hundred thousand people. 
The King and Queen sat on a splendid throne, opposite to 
the judges and the whole council. The Soldier already stood 
upon the ladder; but as they were about to put the rope 
round his neck, he said that before a poor criminal suffered 
his punishment an innocent request was always granted 
to him. He wanted very much to smoke a pipe of tobacco, 
and it would be the last pipe he should smoke in the 
world. The King would not say " No " to this ; so the Soldier 
took his Tinder-box, and struck fire. One — two, — three! — 
and there suddenly stood all the dogs— the one with the 
eyes as big as tea-cups, the one with eyes as big as mill- 
wheels, and the one whose eyes were as big as round 
towers. 

"Help me now, so that I may not be hanged," said the 
Soldier. 

And the dogs fell upon the judges and all the council, 
seized one by the leg and another by the nose, and tossed 
them all many feet into the air, so that they fell down and 
were all broken to pieces. 

" I won't ! " cried the King ; but the biggest dog took him 
and the Queen, and threw them after the others. Then 
the soldiers were afraid, and the people cried, "Little 
Soldier, you shall be our king, and marry the beautiful 
Princess ! " 

So they put the Soldier into the King's coach, and all the 
three dogs darted on in front and cried " Hurrah ! " and the 
boys whistled through their fingers, and the soldiers pre- 
sented arms. The Princess came out of the copper castle, 
and became Queen, and she liked that well enough. The 
wedding lasted a week, and the three dogs sat at the table 
too, and opened their eyes wider than ever at all they saw. 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 377 



THE BUCKWHEAT 

Often after a thunder-storm, when one passes a field in 
which buckwheat is growing, it appears quite blackened and 
singed. It is just as if a flame of fire had passed across it; 
and then the countryman says, " It got that from lightning." 
But whence has it received that? I will tell you what the 
sparrow told me about it, and the sparrow heard it from an 
old willow-tree which stood by a buckwheat field, and still 
stands there. It is quite a great venerable Willow-tree, but 
crippled and old: it is burst in the middle, and grass and 
brambles grow out of the cleft; the tree bends forward, and 
the branches hang quite down to the ground, as if they were 
long green hair. 

On all the fields round about corn was growing, not only 
rye and barley, but also oats ; yes, the most capital oats, which 
when ripe, looks like a number of little yellow canary birds 
sitting upon a spray. The corn stood smiling, and the richer 
an ear was the deeper did it bend in pious humility. 

But there was also a field of buckwheat, and this field was 
exactly opposite to the old Willow-tree. The Buckwheat did 
not bend at all like the rest of the grain, but stood up proudly 
and stiflSy. 

" I'm as rich as any corn-ear," said he. " Moreover, I'm 
very much handsomer : my flowers are beautiful as the blos- 
soms of the apple-tree: it's quite a delight to look upon me 
and mine. Do you know anything more splendid than we 
are, you old Willow-tree ? " 

And the old Willow-tree nodded his head, just as if he 
would have said, " Yes, that's true enough ! " 

But the Buckwheat spread itself out from mere vainglory, 
and said, 

" The stupid tree ! he's so old that the grass grows in his 
body." 

Now a terrible storm came on : all the field flowers folded 
their leaves together or bowed their little heads while the 
storm passed over them, but the Buckwheat stood erect in its 
pride. 

" Bend your head like us," said the Flowers. 



378 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

"I've not the slightest cause to do so," replied the Buck- 
wheat. 

"Bend your head as we do," cried the various Crops. "Now 
the Storm comes flying on. He has wings that reach from the 
clouds just down to the earth, and he'll beat you in halves 
before you can cry for mercy." 

"Yes, but I won't bend," quoth the Buckwheat. 

"Shut up your flowers and bend your leaves," said the old 
Willow-tree. "Don't look up at the lightning when the cloud 
bursts: even men do not do that, for in the lightning one 
may look into the heaven, but the light dazzles even men ; and 
what would happen to us, if we dared do so — we, the plants 
of the field, that are much less worthy than they ?" 

"Much less worthy !" cried the Buckwheat. "Now I'll just 
look straight up into heaven." 

And it did so, in its pride and vainglory. It was as if the 
whole world were on fire, so vivid was the lightning. 

When afterward the bad weather had passed by, the flow- 
ers and the crops stood in the still, pure air, quite refreshed 
by the rain ; but the Buckwheat was burned coal-black by the 
lightning, and it was now like a dead weed upon the field. 

And the old Willow-tree waved its branches in the wind, 
and great drops of water fell down out of the green leaves, 
just as if the tree wept. 

And so the Sparrows asked, "Why do you weep? Here 
everything is so cheerful: see how the sun shines: see how 
the clouds sail on. Do you not breathe the scent of flowers 
and bushes ? Why do you weep, Willow-tree ?" 

And the Willow-tree told them of the pride of the Buck- 
wheat, of its vainglory, and of the punishment which always 
follows such sin. 

I, who tell you this tale, have heard it from the sparrows. 
They told it me one evening when I begged them to give me 
a story. 

THE BELL 

People said, "The evening-bell is sounding, the sun is set- 
ting." A strange wondrous tone was heard in the narrow 
streets of a large town. It was like the sound of a church- 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 379 

bell : but it was only heard for a moment, for the rolling of 
the carriages, and the voices of the multitude made too great 
a noise. 

Those persons who were walking about the town, where 
the houses were further apart, with gardens or little fields be- 
tween them, could see the evening sky still better, and heard 
the sound of the bell much more distinctly. It was as if the 
tones came from a church in the still forest; people looked 
thitherward, and felt their minds attuned most solemnly. 

A long time passed, and people said to each other, — "I 
wonder if there is a church out in the wood ? The bell has a 
tone that is wondrous sweet ; let us stroll thither, and exam- 
ine the matter nearer." And the rich people drove out, and 
the poor walked, but the way seemed strangely long to them ; 
and when they came to a clump of willows which grew on the 
skirts of the forest, they sat down, and looked up at the long 
branches, and fancied they were now in the depth of the green 
wood. The confectioner of the town came out, and set up 
his booth there; and soon after came another confectioner, 
who hung a bell over his stand, as a sign or ornament, but it 
had no clapper, and it was tarred over to preserve it from the 
rain. When all the people returned home, they said it had 
been very romantic, and that it was quite a different sort of 
thing to a picnic or tea-party. There were three persons who 
asserted they had penetrated to the end of the forest, and that 
they had always heard the wonderful sounds of the bell, but 
it had seemed to them as if it had come from the town. One 
wrote a whole poem about it, and said the bell sounded like 
the voice of a mother to a good dear child, and that no 
melody was sweeter than the tones of the bell. The king of 
the country was also observant of it, and vowed that he who 
could discover whence the sounds proceeded should have the 
title of "Universal Bell-ringer," even if it were not really a 
bell. 

Many persons now went to the wood, for the sake of 
getting the place, but one only returned with a sort of ex- 
planation ; for nobody went far enough, that one not farther 
than the others. However, he said that the sound proceeded 
from a very large owl, in a hollow tree; a sort of learned 
owl, that continually knocked its head against the branches. 



380 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

But whether the sound came from his head or from the hol- 
low tree, that, no one could say with certainty. So now he 
got the place of Universal Bell-ringer," and wrote yearly a 
short treatise "On the Owl;" but everybody was just as wise 
as before. 

It was the day of Confirmation. The clergyman had spoken 
so touchingly, the children who were confirmed had been 
greatly moved; it was an eventful day for them; from chil- 
dren they became all at once grown-up persons ; it was as if 
their infant souls were now to fly all at once into persons with 
more understanding. The sun was shining gloriously; the 
children that had been confirmed went out of the town, and 
from the wood was borne toward them the sounds of the 
unknown bell with wonderful distinctness. They all immedi- 
ately felt a wish to go thither ; all except three. One of them 
had to go home to try on a ball-dress, for it was just the 
dress and the ball which had caused her to be confirmed this 
time, for otherwise she would not have come ; the other was a 
poor boy who had borrowed his coat and boots to be con- 
firmed in from the innkeeper's son, and he was to give them 
back by a certain hour; the third said that he never went to 
a strange place if his parents were not with him ; that he had 
always been a good boy hitherto, and would still be so now 
that he was confirmed, and that one ought not to laugh at him 
for it : the others, however, did make fun of him, after all. 

There were three, therefore, that did not go; the others 
hastened on. The sun shone, the birds sang, and the children 
sang too, and each held the other by the hand ; for as yet they 
had none of them any high office, and were all of equal rank 
in the eye of God. 

But two of the youngest soon grew tired, and both returned 
to town ; two little girls sat down, and twined garlands, so 
they did not go either ; and when the others reached the 
willow-tree, where the confectioner was, they said, "Now we 
are there ! In reality the bell does not exist ; it is only a fancy 
that people have taken into their heads !" 

At the same moment the bell sounded deep in the wood, so 
clear and solemnly that five or six determined to penetrate 
somewhat further. It was so thick, and the foliage so dense 
that it was quite fatiguing to proceed. Woodroof and anem- 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 381 

ones grew almost too high; blooming convolvuluses and 
blackberry-bushes hung in long garlands from tree to tree, 
where the nightingale sang and the sunbeams were playing: 
it was very beautiful, but it was no place for girls to go ; their 
clothes would get so torn. Large blocks of stone lay there, 
overgrown with moss of every color ; the fresh spring bubbled 
forth, and made a strange gurgling sound. 

'That surely cannot be the bell," said one of the children, 
lying down and listening; "this must be looked to." So he 
remained, and let the others go on without him. 

They afterwards came to a little house, made of branches 
and the bark of trees ; a large wild apple-tree bent over it, as 
if it would shower down all its blessings on the roof, where 
roses were blooming. The long stems twined round the 
gable, on which there hung a small bell. 

Was it that which people had heard ? Yes : everybody was 
unanimous on the subject, except one, who said that the bell 
was too small and too fine to be heard at so great a distance, 
and besides, it had very different tones from those that could 
move a human heart in such a manner. It was a king's son 
who spoke; whereon the others said, "Such people always 
want to be wiser than everybody else." 

They now let him go on alone ; and as he went, his breast 
was filled more and more with the forest solitude ; but he still 
heard the little bell with which the others were so satisfied, 
and now and then, when the wind blew, he could also hear 
the people singing who were sitting at tea where the confec- 
tioner had his tent ; but the deep sound of the bell rose louder ; 
it was almost as if an organ were accompanying it, and the 
tones came from the left hand, the side where the heart is 
placed. A rustling was heard in the bushes, and a little boy 
stood before the King's Son ; a boy in wooden shoos, and with 
so short a jacket that one could see what long wrists he had. 
Both knew each other; the boy was that one among the chil- 
dren who could not come because he had to go home and re- 
turn his jacket and boots to the innkeeper's son. This he had 
done, and was now going on in wooden shoes and in his hum- 
bler dress, for the bell sounded with so deep a tone, and with 
such strange power, that proceed he must. 

"Why, then, we can go together," said the King's Son. 



382 FOLK-LORE AND FABLE 

But the poor child that had been confirmed was quite 
ashamed; he looked at his wooden shoes, pulled at the short 
sleeves of his jacket, and said, "He was afraid he could not 
walk so fast ; besides, he thought that the bell must be looked 
for to the right; for that was the place where all sorts of 
beautiful things were to be found." 

"But there we shall not meet," said the King's Son, nodding 
at the same time to the Poor Boy, who went into the darkest, 
thickest part of the wood, where the thorns tore his humble 
dress, and scratched his face, and hands, and feet, till they 
bled. The King's Son got some scratches, too; but the sun 
shone on his path, and it is him that we will follow, for he 
was an excellent and resolute youth. 

"I must and will find the bell," said he, "even if I am 
obliged to go to the end of the world." 

The ugly apes sat upon the trees, and grinned. "Shall we 
thrash him ?" said they ; "shall we thrash him ? He is the son 
of a king !" 

But on he went, without being disheartened, deeper and 
deeper into the wood, where the most wonderful flowers were 
growing. There stood white lilies with blood-red stamens; 
sky-blue tulips, which shone as they waved in the winds ; and 
apple-trees, the apples of which looked exactly like large 
soap-bubbles : so only think how the trees must have sparkled 
in the sunshine ! Around the nicest green meads, where the 
deer were playing in the grass, grew magnificent oaks and 
beeches; and if the bark of one of the trees was cracked, 
there grass and long creeping plants grew in the crevices. 
And there were large, calm lakes there too, in which white 
swans were swimming, and beat the air with their wings. 
The King's Son often stood still and listened. He thought the 
bell sounded from the depths of these still lakes; but then 
he remarked again that the tone proceeded not from there, 
but farther off, from out the depths of the forest. 

The sun now set ; the atmosphere glowed like fire. It was 
still in the woods, so very still ; and he fell on his knees, sung 
his evening hymn, and said : "I cannot find what I seek ; the 
sun is going down, and night is coming — the dark, dark night. 
Yet perhaps I may be able once more to see the round, red 
sun before he entirely disappears. I will climb up yonder rock. 



ANDERSEN'S TALES 383 

And he seized hold of the creeping-plants, and the roots of 
trees, — climbed up the moist stones where the water-snakes 
were writhing and the toads were croaking — and he gained 
the summit before the sun had quite gone down. How mag- 
nificent was the sight from this height ! The sea — the great, 
the glorious sea, that dashed its long waves against the coast 
— was stretched out before him. And yonder, where sea 
and sky meet, stood the sun, like a large, shining altar, all 
melted together in the most glowing colors. And the wood 
and the sea sang a song of rejoicing, and his heart sang with 
the rest : all nature was a vast, holy church, in which the trees 
and the buoyant clouds were the pillars, flowers and grass the 
velvet carpeting, and heaven itself the large cupola. The red 
colors above faded away as the sun vanished, but a million 
stars were lighted, a million lamps shone ; and the King's Son 
spread out his arms toward heaven, and wood, and sea ; when 
at the same moment, coming by a path to the right, appeared, 
in his wooden shoes and jacket, the Poor Boy who had been 
confirmed with him. He had followed his own path, and had 
reached the spot just as soon as the Son of the King had done. 
They ran toward each other, and stood together, hand in 
hand, in the vast church of nature and of poetry, while over 
them sounded the invisible, holy bell; blessed spirits floated 
around them, and lifted up their voices in a rejoicing 
hallelujah ! 



Planned and Designed 
at The Collier Press 
By IVtlliam Patten 



^/C^r 



OCT 301909 


















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